Unprecedented
by VisionDominican
Summary: We thought it was a miracle, a single unexplainable phenomena that could never happen again. But it did. And little did we know that this was much bigger than just 6 talking chipmunks.
1. Prologue

Prologue

So yeah, this was inspired by both the 2007/2009 CGI Alvin and the Chipmunk movies and a bit by the cartoons of my younger years. It was also inspired by the author of the fanfic "Alvin and the Chipmunks II". This however is all written by me. Just to let you all know, the characters are in fact the CGI versions of the characters because I just adore realism and I liked the design.

**Disclaimer**: KK

So like many other of my peers I do not own Alvin and the Chipmunks. I'm a lowly peasant who writes fanfiction because of his obsession with anything animated. All hail animation, may it reign forever!

John plugged the numbers in again and again. He compiled data and looked over reports written three years ago. But no matter what the data just didn't make sense. So much was missing, so much skipped over and lost to time. 

"John."

There was supplementary data and he could of course assume a few crucial parts here and there but he was in complete shock at the result. How could it have happened so quickly, so soon? There was no warning in advance, no reason to suspect anything. Things were looking so great for them.

"John, I'm talking to you."

And yet there were signs. He could piece them together now. Campers reporting it, wierd noises and strange sights that the local police ignored. Conspiracy theories, crazies who weren't so crazy after all, suburbs falling prey to widespread theft that couldn't be explained. An entire country left to foam at the mouth for a craze that shook the world to its very foundations.

A woman leaned in close to John's ear. She smiled sweetly and said "John if you don't listen to me I will take these boxes full of yet more useless data that you, may I remind you, made me carry up to your apartment and throw them off the building from the roof."

John chuckled nervously and licked his lips. "Okay... so what is it?"

"I was _going _to ask you about the original three reports."

John mouthed an O and looked about his very messy apartment. With the deadline in sight for the final numbers and the flood of data coming in he had little time to really tidy up his apartment. The problem was the data was so contradictory that it was nearly impossible to get the details right and if he didn't get them in three days time...

"Um... I think... Oh!" the realization hit him like a ton of bricks as he held them in his hand. He chuckled again and passed the wrinkled and worn documents to his wife.

Karen Holstein looked at the three papers with a blank stare. There was much information missing on the orginal three reports that they were nearly useless... nearly.

"You missed something John. It says here that the tallest one... Simon I believe, learned english within a week or two. Not three. Where'd you get that from anyway?"

"The 2009 report from their school. Their english teacher was-"

A series of distressed bangs on the apartment door interuppted the conversation.

"John, Karen let me in! I have new data from our friends in Canada!"

John sighed and walked over to the door calmly. If he appeared distressed then Nero would never shut up.

"Alright, alright. Just take a deep breath. I swear Nero if this is another one of your pranks I'll-"

A frustrated growl from behind the door let John know that his friend wasn't kidding around this time. "O.K. man, relax. Now I'm opening the door and-"

A blur went by and cold hard steel connected solidly with his face. Nero tried to stop himself but caught his foot on a loose floorboard and ended up tackling Karen who went flying into a stack of organizeed papers at the other side of the room.

"I *huff* said *huff* this was *huff* important. Look..." He sat up and gave the paper to a furious John covering his face with his hand.

"Whatever man. This data had better be worth my time. The last time your brother sent us anything from Canada it was-" He gasped when he read the first few numbers at the top of the page.

"B-but there was a... their population went down and... my god." He looked at Nero who was grinning like a madman. Nero only grinned liked that when he felt that he'd done good. If this was real, Nero and his brother would have come across one of the greatest scientific discoveries to date. And it was all happening so close to home too.

"Uh... I guess I'll just plug in the numbers. Karen I'll send the final data to you. Nero you just... keep doing what your doing I guess..." Nero clapped his hands and let out a victorious scream.

John moved back to his computer, nursing his already swelling face with his left hand while he entered the new data with his right. The program was so simple that all he had to do was put in a few numbers then click calculate.

The final numbers he arrived at were... scary to say the least. To say that what was happenning now was in the making for just a few years was startling.

"How come no one saw this coming?" He questioned Nero.

"Its because we've always thought we were alone John. We always thought we would be the first and the last."

End Prologue


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

So here it is. My first story, called Unprecedented and based off of a certain part in Hallhomestead's story, "Alvin and the Chipmunks II". If you haven't read it, its a good read so go ahead. Yeah you heard me.

* * *

January 8th 2010 - Dave Seville's Residence

"-And that is why this ruling from the Supreme Court which was three years in the making is so well deserved. Dave and his three boys can now wake up in the morning and know that the law guarantees _all_ of them the rights our founding fathers had intended." A man wearing a very expensive suit said.

Thousands cheered and applauded as Alvin and his brothers leapt onto the podium to greet their fans and thank them. Simon smiled brilliantly for a moment as he remembered his speech. Dave had given him the responsibility of writting one up and presenting it to the crowd here today. He distinctly remembered Alvin mocking shock at not being picked to do it.

The blue-clad chipmunk approached the microphone and gave it a few taps to assure that it was working. "Um. Hello everybody. I have a few words to say on behalf of my family. I just wanted to say how grateful we are to everyone's efforts petitioning officials and offering their support. We're happy that so many lent a hand by spreading the story of our case around. We want to thank our fans, our supporters, our lawyers and doctors who worked hard to present our case and finally we want to thank Dave for being our caretaker, and now, our father. We love you... dad." The crowed cheered and congratulated the family.

* * *

"-And there sir is where it all started." John walked back to the podium as the video clip cut off.

"Mr. Holstein with all due respect I fail to see the connection between this unprecedented event and the drop in the chipmunk population." A man far in the back asked. Murmurs throughout those attending echoed their agreement.

A man far closer to the front stood and adressed his compatriots. "It is because they are unrelated in the first place. The fact that three animals - chipmunks of all creatures, recieved human-like intelligence is a miracle in and of itself. A scientific phenomena if you will. Such an event repeating again has such a miniscule chance that-"

John cleared his throat, the sound magnified by the microphone and cutting off the doubtful speaker currently standing. He wasn't _quite_ done with his presentation. "The fact is that there is a connection. You see, the reported sightings of chipmunks in the cities increased by 12% in 2008 compared to the report in 2005. In 2009 they doubled that. They have now reached a peak of 47%. In addition, robberies containing no forensic evidence except animal hair has trippled since 2007."

A woman in the front row stood up and questioned John. "Mr. Holstien are you telling us that animals have suddenly gained intelligence and are now running rampant in cities, going on mass robberies for spare parts and food?"

"No. Only chipmunks. You see my colleagues and I believe that a sudden rapid mutation in the chipmunk population has caused even faster brain growth and has supercharged their intelligence to the point of selfawareness. With a species already self aware and quite advanced to earlier standards, they were able to move beyond millenia of slow advancement. We don't know when it started but the climax point was the day that The Chipmunks arrived at Mr. Seville's door. They were the first. The Chipettes arrived in 2009, a year or so after Alvin and his brothers decided to take a break from their careers."

He gestured at the big screen behind him as another video came on screen.

* * *

October 19, 2010

"If you can see this behind me, there is massive gathering of Chipmunk and Chipette fans lucky enough to purchase a ticket before it sold out a few weeks ago. Their purpose? To experience one of the most highly anticipated events to date. Chipmunk fever has returned to the USA and will be spreading over to Europe in just a few weeks."

The reporter walked over to the right, still speaking into the camera. "After a long wait many fans are excited to once again hear the music stylings of both the Chipmunks and the long anticipated Chipettes. Many still-"

* * *

The video cut off and John turns back to continue his presentation. "The return of the Chipmunks began in October with their first concert which sold out quickly. It had a very modest advertising campaign but with the help of the fan base and various mediums of communication, word spread fast. Soon enough the tickets sold out."

He began a slow walk over to the other side of the stage, speaking the whole time. "It was a very public event but the result was something... unexpected. All of the unexplained robberies ceased, the sightings in major cities all across the U.S. and even in some areas in Canadian cities dropped sharply."

"But one area in the U.S. still maintained its numbers. I'm sure anyone here can take a guess at where that is. If you guessed Hollywood USA then you are correct." He stopped and looked across those in attendance. There were a bit more people than were expected. Though he didn't expect many to even come anyway. A few of his colleagues were already calling him a fraud and a fool.

"For example, lets look at Brittney, Jeanette, and Eleanor." He paused for a moment and added."At the moment their guardian is in fact Mr. Seville but they have no permanant family."

"The evidence for all of these phenomena is in their story. They reportedly came here from New York City according to mailing records. They FedEx'd themselves to Jett Records who still had both the Chipmunks and Mr. Seville in their employ. The only reason they could have possibly known to go to Jett Records is if they read or heard of the Chipmunks being employed there. That would mean that the Chipmunks and their known associates are natural places to congregate to to if your a talking chipmunk should we believe these observations."

"What are you suggesting Mr. Holstein?" A voice responded. John didn't bother looking for it.

"Wire transfers have been made in six figure numbers to dozens of accounts all across the U.S. Wherever the money ends up, its impossible to track and all of it is done electronically so wading through hundreds of individual banking records can take months. Even then there is no guarantee of ending up with a solid result."

"What I am suggesting is that there will be more. Yet we know so little about the actual reasoning for the initial spike in intelligence of the chipmunk population. We need actual, physical data. We need to study the originals."

Another voice from the back of the audience. "No one has been able to get access to their medical records. You know that well enough Mr. Holstein."

"Yes but I have a plan. I am petitioning the Institute to ahm... perhaps this would be a good time to take a short break."He still mulled over this plan of his. John had no idea whether or not it would work. If they had the chipmunks, the others would come straight to them. This was for them, for science.

* * *

"Alvin get off already!" Simon yelled as he pushed his older brother off off him. Alvin moaned sleepily as a line of drool drooped lazily onto his hoodie. He slid off the car seat and on top off his younger brother Theodore.

"H-Hey! Alvin your too- Ew. Is that spit? Ewww Alvin get off!" The green clad chipmunk flailed about, unable to push off his eldest brother. Alvin simply moved around and elbowed both of his brothers. Annoyance graced Simon's features as he resisted the urge to elbow his brother in return.

"Dave, how much longer until we get home?" Theo asked. He tried cleaning the drool from his quickly soaking head. Another line of the viscious liquid dripped onto his nose and he cried out in disgust.

"Alvin can you knock it off? I'm at the wheel." Dave said distractedly from behind the wheel. He hated when Alvin fell asleep in the car. Alvin _always_ did something to distract him from driving when he was asleep.

"Dave, Alvin still won't get off and this is so gross." Simon attempted to pull Alvin off of his little brother but only recieved an elbow in response.

"Alvin, I'm serious. Stop bothering your brothers and sit still." Dave said, gritting his teeth in frustration. It was becoming increasingly harder to pay attention to the road a few less than friendly honks were already directed at him and- oh that was a stop sign.

Alvin jerked foward and his head crashed into Simon who was still wrestling with him. Simon's glasses fell foward and onto the floor, and Theodore who was glad to have Alvin and his drool off of him was elbowed in the eye. Theodore yelped in pain as Simon yelled "My glasses!"

Dave who was unable to resist it any more prodded his sleeping son awake. "Alvin just do me a favor and keep yourself awake or else don't expect to watch T.V. when we get back to the house."

With a grin the chipmunk said "Sure thing Dave! But uh... doesn't that sign say stop?"

Dave turned back to the road and indeed saw the stop sign. A little girl chased after her ball and Dave was headed right at her. Dave, with years of experience with cloes calls, easily dodged the girl and swooped through traffic before heading speeding off towards their house.

"See boys, no problem!" He declared with a smile. When no sarcastic comment came from his eldest boy, Dave knew something was wrong. Theodore was struggling with Alvin who had a hand over Simon's mouth while hte other groped the security lock on their seatbelt.

"Alvin you can't take the seatbelt off while I'm driving."

"But Dave, I dropped my cap. I'll only take a second."

"Alvin! Don't!"

"Sure thing Dave. I'll- Oh wait, too late." Alvin scurried to the bottom of the car soon after Simon fell to the bottom once their seatbelt had been unbuckled. Theodore looked over the edge of their seat to find his brothers below him.

Dave pushed hard on the brakes and yelled furiously. "ALLLLL-VIIIIIINNNNN" A car came from behind and lightly crashed into their rear bumper. The other driver had smashed his foot onto the brake pedal, slowing down the damage of the impact. Theodore lost his balance and fell foward while Alvin leaped into the air. Simon tried to get back up from his position on the floor but he tripped over himself and fell backwards. A second after he'd touched the ground, a resounding crunch echoed in his ears.

The brainy chipmunk felt around for his glasses and found a round soft thing. _Must be Theo_ he thought. He felt sharp sting as his other hand pressed into glass. _And that was my glasses. Oh brother..._

"Well look on the brightside guys." Alvin said with a sheepish smile on his face. A short pause went by and Simon decided to take the bait. "O.K. so what's the brightside?"

"What? I gave you the advice. Jeez, can't be the only one who does work around here."

"Shut up Alvin."

End Chapter 1

Well, tell me how you liked it? A bit too long or not long enough I'm sure but I'm sure theres other interesting stuff too. Anyway review s'il vous plait. It'll improve as we go along I assure you.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hey yall. I was so excited about finally writting my ideas down that I decided to write another chapter.

Don't worry about anything. All will be explained eventually. I promise.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" An annoyed and impatient Alvin said. He was riding in Dave's shirt pocket, staring lazily at the dozens of shops passing by.

"No."

Alvin sighed dramatically and shifted around inside the shirt pocket. _This is sooooo boring. I wonder what the Chipettes are doing?_

Simon and Theodore were sitting comfortably on Dave's shoulders. Simon was hanging tightly on Dave's shirt collar. With his glasses broken he had a hard time seeing things close up. He had astigmatism, distorting the world. Simon didn't like being without his glasses for so long. It made him feel... strange, not to mention the incessant headaches.

Theodore was quiet and somber on Dave's other shoulder. He felt bad for breaking Simon's glasses and told his brother as much all of yesterday. Simon waved the whole thing off as just a mistake but the headaches didn't assure Theo much beyond the fact that he'd made his brother suffer.

"Are we there yet?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"No now sit still, your claws are pretty sharp. When did we last cut them?"

Alvin squirmed around at Dave's question. He _hated_ having his claws cut. "Um... we did that ah... a few days ago?" It was more of a question than an answer. Dave didn't buy it for a minute. "Doubt it. We'll talk about that tomorrow."

"Ugh, well are we there yet now?"

Dave shook his head and entered the doctor's shop. There were glasses of all shapes and sizes on display. Some were priced at two hundred dollars, others at fifty. Dave grimaced as he felt around for his wallet and realized it wasn't there.

"Uh oh. Well maybe I can-"

"Mr. Seville! Is there a Dave Seville here?"

"Oh right, that's me."

"The doctor will see you now."

Dave nervously followed the attendant to the doctor's examination room. _How could I forget my wallet at the house? _Alvin groaned in his boredom.

"Alvin be quiet. I don't need you causing your usual trouble while we're in the doctor's office."

"Whatever."

A large, round man turned around as the attendant opened the door to the room. He had a receeding, gray hairline and a perpetual smile plastered on his face. "Ah, so these must the famous chipmunks I've heard so much about. My name is Doctor Nicholas Wellington and I'll be examining..."

Dave opened his eyes in recognition "Oh right. My son, Simon. He has astigmatism. He says he has headaches and blurry vision. Is there anything you can do for him?"

"Hm... well lets just see how your eyesight is doing son." Dr. Wellington took a stack of books and placed them so

Alvin took one look at the machine right above and became instantly interested. "Hey what's that?" He pointed at the strange contraption.

The doctor gave a hearty chuckle "Oh this thing? Its called a phoropter. It's what I use to perfrom the different tests."

"Looks like fun. Let me try!" Alvin declared as he leapt from his position inside Dave's shirt pocket to the photopter.

Dave saw it coming and intercepted the awry chipmunk with a single catch. He'd gotten used to stopping Alvin before the red-clad troublemaker could cause any of his usual mischief. He put the chipmunk back into his pocket and buttoned it up so his boy couldn't get out.

"Alvin, What'd I tell you?"

"Its okay Mr. Seville. Your boys are very energetic. Reminds me of myself now that I think about it... Well, lets get started on that exam Simon."

* * *

Jeanette was all alone...

"Brittany! Eleanor! Where are you guys?" No response. Jeanette huffed and left their room and headed into the kitchen. Surely Eleanor was making a snack. She walked into the kitchen only to find it empty. _No Eleanor to be found here. Maybe Brittany's in the living room watching T.V._ She thought.

The Television set was on and running on a documentary of the Chipmunks and Chipettes. She ran into the living room, leaping onto the coffee table. One look around confirmed a distinct lack of Brittany in the room.

_Where di-d everyone go? Something strange is going on here..._ Jeanette felt eyes watching her. She stopped and turned around.

_At last!_

"Brittany what are you-nmmfff?" Asked a bewildered Jeanette.

Brittany silenced her sister, covering Jeanette's mouth with her hand. She wildly looked around for... whatever she was looking for. Jeanette noticed the wierd look in her sister's eye. She'd never seen her like that before.

"Now keep your voice down."

Jeanette nodded and her older sister slowly removed her hand, allowing the younger Chipette to speak.

"Brittany are you scared?"

"N-no of course not!" Brittany kicked herself for responding so quickly to that. Jeanette would probe and prod her for the source and she knew that her younger sister would eventually tear the answer from her.

"Its nothing. I just... heard something. Well I've been hearing something tapping on all the windows for the past few days." Brittany squinted her eyes at the kitchen window. Something was tapping the window. She waved her sister to get down, both creeping to the edge of the kitchen counter. It was... It was...

Eleanor.

"Oh. Its just Ellie. Jeanette go open the window for her." _I'll never admit it in front of the girls, but that was scary. Though i still don't feel better. _The tapping continued, annoying Brittany greatly. "Jeanette, go open the window already!"

Brittany felt a hand touch her and she jumped up in surprise. It was only Eleanor.

"Uh Brittany? Are you feeling well?" the youngest of the Chipettes asked. She had a look of concern on her face. "You haven't exactly acted like your usual self today. You were like this yesterday and... come to think of it, you've been acting strange all week!"

"Y-yeah you just... surprised me." She said, shaking off her fear. _Calm down girl. Your starting to lose your edge and your mind._ "Really its nothing. Why don't we watch some T.V. hmm?"

Eleanor and Jeanette looked at each other and shrugged. They began walking over to the television set. Brittany was glad to have her sisters off her back. "You guys start watching whatever and I'll check the fridge for Dave's stash of ice cream." Eleanor giggled with joy and Jeanette licked her lips in anticipation.

Brittany looked underneath the pile of onions and broccoli to where Dave regularly kept a small tub of ice cream. "So predictable." she said to no one in particular. After a bit of effort she managed to put some in a plastic cup. When she turned to close the fridge, a familiar face briefly appeared at the kitchen window.

"Percy?"

"Brit are you alright in there?" Eleanor asked from the armchair in the living room. The green- clad chipette was getting impatient. "Do you need any help?"

"N-no. Just uh, wait there." Brittany leapt to the kitchen counter, then to the sink, and finally the window. She knew Percy was hiding somewhere...

A brief flash of a tail and a round of telltale chattering was all the proof she needed. Brittany opened it and dashed outside, watching a brown creature turn right to the other side of the house. Brittany followed in persuit calling out "Percy! Its me, Brittany!" .

When she made the turn, the chipette found nothing. She could still hear _his_ voice. Voices all around her that had to be him. "Brittany... Brittany..."

"Where are you, this isn't funny. I haven't seen you in years and you play this stupid game?"

"You live with humans Brit. I'm quite disappointed... Be a dear and tell Alvin that I'm expecting him." Percy called from his hiding spot. Brittany struggled to find the origin of the voice. It was like his words were echoing all around her. "By the way, it was nice seeing you again."

"Percy don't you leave me here! Percy! Percy damnit!" she yelled as a rustle of leaves spoke of his disapearance. Brittany climbed the tree quickly, scaling it in seconds. She could see him running far, far down the street. He was gone.

"Brittany you know what Dave says-"

"Yeah, yeah whatever. I think Percy was here."

"Really? Where?" Jeanette asked. She was a bit confused as to why Percy didn't greet her and Eleanor too.

"He made off before I could confront him. He says he's expecting Alvin."

"Then he must be planning to meet him and doesn't want any surprises. Though I wonder, what could he want from Alvin? And why didn't he talk with us?"

Brittany shrugged and joined her sister on the ground level. "What a jerk. He nearly scared me to death."

"To be fair, some of that _was_ Eleanor." Jeanette said. Brittany simply waved her off and returned inside. Brittany could hear a disappointed Eleanor complain about spilled ice cream and lazy older sisters.

"Whatever. That guy better not come back without a long and thorough apology or I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind." Brittany declared. She meant it too. If nothing else, she'd chew him out for not coming to see them sooner.

Eleanor attempted to clean up the mess of ice cream that was all over the kitchen floor. Things had fallen out the fridge in Brittany's mad dash to catch up to Percy. "So are you going to help clean this up or just watch me struggle down here?"

"No, I think your doing just fine." Brittany said with a smirk. Eleanor paused her cleaning to give Brittany an annoyed glare. "Oh ha ha. Very funny. Seriously we need to get this clean befo-"

The front door opened and all three girls panicked. Brittany shoved the both of them down and pushed them over the spilled ice cream, wiping the majority of it off the floor and onto the younger chipettes. They voiced their anger at Brittany, who struggled to keep a serious face on. Dave and the boys came rushing to the scene seconds later. "What's going on here? Why is the floor a mess? And did you girls get into my ice cream?" He asked accusingly.

"Of course not Dave! The girls and I were mud wrestling but you came inside before we could clean up." Brittany responded skillfully. _Oh yeah, I'm good._

"Then why aren't you covered in mud? And why were you even mud wrestling in the first place? Brittany, what did you do?" Dave responded. His eyes squinted in suspicion and the boys' interest began to peak. Brittany was the best at avoiding trouble in the house, despite Alvin's arguing and denial towards the fact. It was like watching T.V. which eluded Alvin due to his constant mischief making.

"That's cause... uh... Okay Dave you caught us. I suppose we better come clean."

That suprised everyone in the room. Brittany wasn't known for honesty. Alvin was especially stricken. He'd expected more of a challenge by the self-proclaimed diva.

"We were outside and caught up with a friend from... before we met. We had a bit of ice cream and talked for a while but when we tried to clean up a bit, we made more of a mess. Ironic huh?"

_Damn she's good._ Alvin thought. He wouldn't admit it to anyone ever but the girl did have a knack for lying. He saw the lie easy. Dave however, was much more naive. He'd fall for a pretty face any time which was the one weapon Alvin lacked.

"Oh well... I suppose that's alright. I wish you would have just told me instead of lying but you did have your reasons. We'll talk later, for now finish cleaning this ice cream up and uh... you might want to shower a bit. I can't imagine ice cream being good for your fur." Dave said. He already regretted being so suspicious of such good intentioned girls. But he did have _Alvin_ of all chipmunks as a son.

"As for you Alvin, don't bother turning on that T.V. today or for the rest of the week either. I am very disappointed in your behavior. Not that I didn't expect as much but only that you still haven't learned your lesson." Dave said to the still trapped chipmunk in his shirt pocket.

"Simon is going to be without glasses for another week thanks to you. Apologize to him, right now Alvin."

"Theodore was the one who broke the glasses, not me! Why am I always the one getting in trouble?" Alvin cried out to Dave. And he was so looking foward to hogging the T.V. all day. Alvin never really enjoyed admitting the truth about anything. But Brittany was cute when she was angry. That and it was hilarious seeing her get so worked up over the smallest of things.

"Perhaps it is because you search for trouble habitually. If I didn't know better, I'd say you purposely cause mischief because you enjoy it." Simon remarked. It wasn't too far from the truth to say that Simon had a bit of animosity left over his glasses.

"Simon, you _don't_ know better. Now shush. The adults are speaking." Alvin said dismissively. He didn't often pick on Simon for being younger by 10 minutes, but on the occasions that he did, it grated on his brother's nerves like nothing else could.

"Touché." Simon decided to let this one slide. He'd archive this moment to those that he'd exact revenge for. But for now, he'd let his brother have his day.

"Alvin, I've made up my mind. In fact, you can use this time to practice a bit of maturity. Behave for a few days and I'll see about lifting your punishment early." Dave responded. If nothing else, he'd try and convince Alvin to behave through a bit of positive reinforcement.

"Now then, I have a song to finish. You all know what to do, so just stay out of trouble while I'm in the office. Especially you Alvin." He let the trapped chipmunk loose, with a slight moment of hesitation, and helped Simon get down from his shoulder and next to the girls. Dave gave his kids one last nod and headed for his home office in the back of the house.

Once Dave was gone Brittany let out an uproar of laughter. Seeing her sisters filthy and covered in ice cream was truly a sight to see. Eleanor and Jeanette found nothing funny about their current state. Their glares said as much.

"Oh right, I almost forgot. Alvin, we need to have a talk about a certain someone."

"Who?"

"His name... is Percy."

* * *

End Chapter 2

So yeah, this was supposed to be uploaded yesterday but I took too much time finishing it and decided to check it over then upload it today. I know these chapters are asking more questions rather than answering them but dark shadows are at work here. They hide in the dark and manipulate the light so that their pawns will dance to it.

Hmm... not very poetic. Whatever. Thanks to the... three or so people who reviewed. Your confusion gives me the strength to write!


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Well, I'm churning out these chapters rather quickly. Don't get used to it.

Also, please review. I feed from your enjoyment and use the energy to write. Also, I like to know who it is I'm thanking for taking the time out to review. If you don't have an account, I'd highly suggest one if only to review your favorite authors.

Thanks and enjoy this next chapter.

* * *

"So this Percy doesn't seem like the nicest guy around." Alvin said, mulling over what the Chipettes had told him. All three had told him dozens of stories of the chipmunk's generosity and guidance. He was the Chipettes' protector during their time in the wild.

While Brittany cleaned the floor, Jeanette and Eleanor took showers. Simon was annoyed at his prospects during this time. With everything so blurry he couldn't read or write, watch T.V., or even find his way around the house. _Ill have to think of appropriate measures to take against Alvin. _He thought maliciously. Well...malice was a bit strong. It was more like he was being... _mischievous_.

Brittany had taken to telling Alvin all about Percy and his story while she cleaned. "He really is a nice guy. Its just... he doesn't like... well. Look he has his issues. We all do. Some of us just hide it better than others." She threw a look at Simon. With his vision he completely missed it.

Alvin saw it and crossed his arms. "Why should I care whether or not he wants to see me."

"Because I do."

That hit Alvin pretty hard. He wondered briefly what was the thing between these two. Why was she so interested in some other talking chipmunk?

"Okay so that's seven talking, self-aware chipmunks. Just how many are like us? Do you know more Brittany?" Simon asked. He was sitting on the counter, looking at nothing at particular.

"Not really. Percy was the only other that really knew english and there were a few others that were smart but they didn't show much interest in humans like us." She responded thoughtfully. Those days in the forests to the east were a bit fuzzy. _Why can't I remember?_

"Hm... It seems we've become a gathering point for chipmunks everywhere. Think about it, you girls came here because Jett Records hired us right? So that must mean this guys saw us on T.V. or heard of us somewhere and came to L.A. to talk to us." Simon surmised. He'd already pieced it all together, or so he thought.

"Of course Simon. I should have known everyone would want a chance to hang out with me. I mean I couldn't think of a person who wouldn't kill for that chance." Alvin smiled and looked at them for approval. Brittany looked at Simon who just smiled and stared straight ahead. Brittany couldn't help but giggle and Alvin glared in response.

"Anyway, why would this Percy fellow run from you three girls? From what you've said about him it seems like you guys were good friends. Care to tell us what happened?" Simon said. Percy was a strange chipmunk to say the least. Something must have gone wrong between the him and the Chipettes for him to just run away from her like that.

"No, nothing really. He helped us stay alive in the wild and taught us how to sneak into cars and trucks. He even helped us FedEx ourselves to Jett Records."

"You guys FedEx'd yourselves? How? They scan mail for living organisms. You would have come up on the scanners." Simon said incredulously. He knew plenty about the postal system, more than anyone in his family at least.

"I don't know... Maybe we didn't get picked up on the scanners."

"Impossible. If those scanners can pick up even the smallest traces of bacteria and viruses then there is absolutely no way you could have avoided them." Simon was intrigued. The Chipettes' story just got a lot more interesting.

He wondered why he didn't know this until now. The question must not have come up with all the drama surrounding Ian and his efforts to ruin the Chipmunks.

"I don't know okay! If you really want to know, ask Percy. He helped mail us." Brittany yelled in frustration. "Just talk to Percy. I don't know what he wants but it might be important."

"We don't even know where to locate him. Did he leave you any clue as to his whereabouts? Was there anything he said that could lead us to him?" Simon asked. "I'm sure he had t o have left us _something_ to work with."

_"You live with humans Brit. I'm quite disappointed."_

The voice, _his _voice, echoed in her ears. How had they grown so apart?

"No, nothing." She said, downtrodden. Simon sensed it, but said nothing. Alvin was oblivious to it.

"Then he will come to us. I suppose there's no thinking about it further."

"Whatever you two. I'm going to our room. Theodore challenged me to the pillow fight of the century and I can't disappoint him, can I?" Alvin said dismissively. Personally, he didn't give a chipmunks rump about this Percy dude.

"Alvin, didn't Dave say not to-"

"Shut it Simon."

* * *

A long hard stare, no response.

He thrashed about, struggling to resist. The bonds of eternity held him, and only the voices of the many would break the chains.

A slow blink, heavy breathing.

"Compromise?"

With a soft shake, dust sprinkled into the air and he felt like a weight had been removed from his body.

He heard the communing. The voices called to him but they were not enough. He needed more. More and more. Always more. The dust collected, and when it fell it shone like a thousand suns.

Warmth consumed him, he would be free...

"Soon."

Percy awoke in fright. The room was stark white, his third favorite color. He threw the covers off his small bed and rubbed his face until he felt awake enough. "I'm not old enough for this crap."

He leaped to his computer desk, watching a fellow chipmunk type on the keyboard using two long, thin plastic sticks. "How's it coming along? Are we in the green?"

"You betcha boss!" The chipmunk said sarcasticlly. He'd been up half the night working on this. "Actually, no. It'll be another two hours before we know anything definite."

"How much Sam."

"Well we've had several successes and seeing as we haven't been-"

"How. Much." He said, more forcefully this time.

"Seven million." Sam said with grimace.

Percy's jaw dropped. He didn't expect _that_ much. Sam was good, but to be _that_ good... "Sam that's incredible!"

"Not for me. I screwed up boss. They almost caught me snooping in their network and it slowed down our entire operation." Sam responded. He sure didn't feel incredible. For all he knew, it could have been a disaster.

"Its okay. We have the rook, the knight, and the bishop in position. Now we move our pawns and . Everything will come together."

"It always does boss." Sam said in agreement. "How were the girls."

"Fine." He said. His tone let Sam know that the conversation wasn't one he wanted to have.

_"You live with humans brit. I'm quite disappointed."_

The voice, _his _voice, echoed in his own ears. How had they grown so apart?

* * *

**7 days ago...**

"Mr. Holstein, this proposal is... unorthadox to say the least. And are we certain that we want-"

"Its the best chance we have. Seeing is believing has role in this."

"Even if this works, are you certain our credibility won't be-"

"I won't lie to any of you. This is a leap of faith. Do or die. If we don't move soon, the chance to catch them will disappear. They have remained in hiding because none are willing to take the chance and look for them.

The evidence is in your hands, and if you choose to ignore it..." John threw his hands up in the air. "Poof, they disappear once again."

"I think you've made your case Mr. Holstein. The institute will convene shortly and vote on this final proposal."

John looked backstage and saw his wife Karen jumping up in joy. Nero was behind her, giving him a thumbs up. He gave them a smile and returned his attention to the audience. He gave a short bow and walked backstage to his smiling friends.

"John you were great out there!"

"Yeah, way to go buddy. Think you got a chance?"

"Maybe... We'll have to wait and see, won't we?"

Hours went by until they did get their chance. A soft beep graced let the head speaker know of the new email in his inbox. He took his phone out and read the subject. With one look it was decided. "Mr. Holstein, to the stage please."

John rushed out to podium. "Right, I'm here."

"I just received an email from the high ranking members of the Institute. The vote amongst those present and the heads of the Institute has finished in your favor. Your proposal has been approved. A car is waiting outside for you and your team to be transported to your new facillities."

He smiled and thanked the head speaker before running backstage. Several quiet moments went by until the voice of Nero graced the theater.

"YEEEESSSSSSS!"

* * *

End chapter 3

So... a bit short. Yes i know. Sorry. More questions, less answers. Bluh bluh.

The next chapter finally answers a few of your questions. Just trust me on this. Review and tell me what you think.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I'm angry.

No not at you guys hehe… At myself mostly. As I look back I didn't do a good job proofreading. Ah well. I suppose I could always go back when the story's pretty much done.

I'm making this chapter long enough to break ten thousand words. Enjoy you dirty, stinking, good for nothing-

I mean, gracious, cool, awesome, amazing readers. Oh and review s'il vous plait.

* * *

"Sam, turn the volume up. I can't hear a thing."

"I'm trying boss, we don't have good reception. Where'd you place the bug anyway?"

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me what they're saying." Percy commanded. He didn't trust The Knight to get into his position. Despite what he told Brittany to do, Alvin would no doubt be stubborn about it. Instead of watching his back like the message was meant to do, Alvin would most likely run himself into the ground and right into trouble.

He knew the type.

"Boss, there's something about a date… Brit is squealing about something aaaaaand… yeah there's that sacrcastic comment from Alvin.

Oh. Wow. " Sam broke out into laughter and Percy grinded his teeth. Sam may have been a genius and the worlds greatest hacker, but his attention span was shot to hell.

"Damnit! What are they saying Sam?"

"Oh right. It looks like Brittany attacked Alvin because he said-. "

Percy yelled in frustration. He didn't have time for this. "Sam. Where. Are. They. Going?"

"Relax boss. Like I said, you need some yoga, maybe a little bit of feng shui. You've been working a lot lately. Its not healthy boss. Oh I know what you need now! You should find a lady friend boss. See, I can hook you up with-"

"Sam!"

The tech-savvy chipmunk grimaced as he heard his named yelled over the walkie talkie. _Ya can't blame a guy for trying. Jeez._ Sam played around with his tiny headset and adjusted his tie yet again. The tie had dozens of even smaller guitars on it, with a monochrome blue forming the backdrop. He loved this tie so much, he'd taken burns on half his body to save it.

His reputation went from geek to freak that day.

"From what I can hear... Maybe to South Coast Plaza?"

"Hmm... Alright send a team to secure the house Sam." Then he added "And get better bugs inside the house. I want a real-time feed set up ASAP."

"You betcha boss!" For emphasis Sam stood up and saluted. He felt stupid a moment later as Percy wasn't there. "Hey say hi to-"

"No."

Sam grimaced again. He didn't know what happened to get the guy so angry at the girls, but he had to find out. He wasn't this angry since…

"Sam, what did I tell you about _that_ day. I said we would never speak about it again, right?"

"Right." _How does boss catch me every time? Its like he can read my thoughts. Hehe._

When Percy didn't respond, Sam tried to keep a serious face but he couldn't help but break out into a grin. "People have told me I'm pretty damned funny boss."

"That joke was terrible. Don't quit your day job."

Percy shut off the walkie talkie, lest his geeky companion try and joke around some more. He could still hear the corny, dated jokes in his mind though. The story of his life…

"Now how do I want to sneak into their SUV this time?" Percy pulled the toothpick spear from his back. He'd attached a string to it, so he could carry it over his shoulder. It wasn't the sturdiest weapon, but it had its uses.

He stared at the glass for a few seconds, as if stuck in a trance. He could hear Sam crack up about something before the door window lowered itself about halfway. He hopped inside and the door window shut itself closed.

"Hmm… old car. With all that money I expected a BMW or at least some ridiculous hybrid." Percy remarked. Dave was living in a small house, driving an old beat up SUV, and who knows what else. Percy believed all humans to be conceited, self-centered creatures. There was always an agenda, always.

"I don't know what your deal is Mr. Seville, but I'm going to find out one way or another."

The front door to the house opened suddenly to reveal Dave with Simon in tow. Below him, the other five chipmunks scurried.

"Damn!" Percy opened the glove compartment and vaulted in. He landed in a soft pile of old car bills and clean napkins. With clap of his paws, the glove compartment closed and darkness consumed the toothpick wielding chipmunk.

Dave knew right away that something was wrong with the car. He could feel it. Something was definitely off. The doors were unlocked for some reason and the car window looked… darker than he remembered. He tried to put his mind off it but the feeling nagged him.

"Dave?"

The man looked to his right to see Theodore worriedly looking at him. "Is something wrong?"

"No no no. I'm just uh, making sure the car is alright. Strap yourselves into your seats guys."

Alvin groaned as Theodore, Jeanette, and Eleanor took the car seat in the front. That was his favorite spot in the car. Now he had to sit with Brittany and Simon. Brittany saw him move to sit down and shifted over to the left of Simon, leaving Alvin to sit on his brother's right.

Simon could only curse himself for not seeing this sooner, and then again for making an unintentional pun out of his situation. "Okay, handicapped chipmunk here. Try not to bicker you two. I don't need the headache."

"I'm not the one who whines about everything." Alvin said. He gave Brittany a pointed look and she glared.

"Are you implying that I'm a whiner?"

"Yeah. Is there a problem?"

"There is no way I complain more than you. You practically do everyday!"

"Ha, as if." Alvin waved her off, and she growled.

"Yes you do."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"Your just jealous that-"

"Christ Dave, start the car!" Simon yelled, as the two continued their argument over him. Dave agreed, knowing full well that the two would continue on despite whatever he did to resolve the problem.

* * *

"Mr. Holstein. Targets are moving due south in a blue Toyota Tercel. The license plate is 5AOE742. I repeat, 5AOE742."

"Thank you Jackson. Send the first team in to secure the house. Have the second team follow the car. We'll capture them at their destination."

"Yes sir!"

John stared at the video feed coming from the first team, watching the house carefully. His team would plant the traps and await the chipmunks if the second team failed. John turned his sights on the video feed from the second squad as they followed the Seville family's car.

Today would be their first encounter with _the Talent_. A truly important day indeed.

* * *

Sam watched the van pull up at the very end of the street and several men dressed like electricians came out. The van pulled away quickly and the five men quickly walked down the street. The chipmunk caught a brief flash of a hidden pistol and called for backup.

"C-1 and C-2 come in. You guys in position?"

"Yeah. Where's Percy?" a gruff voice responded.

"He snuck into Seville's car and followed them to the mall."

"Whatever. We're in the house, but the bugs haven't been put in place yet. Can you distract the enemy?"

"Nah. They're well armed. I didn't bring any of my gadgets either. Just get into position and wait until they enter the house."

"Heh. Sure thing. These guys are gonna have one hell of a surprise when they come through that door."

Sam cut off the conversation there. The five men were getting close to his tree. They had nets and cages, tools Sam knew were going to be ineffective again their… talents.

"Ok, looks like their picking the lock on the door."

"Roger, we see them. Get into position boys and girls, the show is about to begin."

The door opened and the five men drew their weapons. The five men were tough, grizzled, and dangerous. They entered the house slowly, eyes roaming and searching for anything out of the ordinary.

Like talking chipmunks, that was definitely out of the ordinary.

"Fan out, cover every room and make sure you don't kill any of the targets unless they attack first. And watch yourself Johnson. You screw up _again _and the Institute will have your ass."

"Whatever."

Two men went to check out the bedrooms to the right while another went downstairs to check the basement. The last two explored the living room and kitchen.

Sam looked through his miniature binoculars and saw the two in the living room and kitchen. "Vex. You got these two?"

The voice that responded was female, a mature and sultry type of voice. His mind floated and swam in warm thoughts, until Pip's fast and squeaky voice sent him crashing back to earth. "She said she's got it Sam. Pay attention to the damn mission before I come out there and kick your ass."

"Relax man. It's not my fault Vex has a weird Talent."

"But it is your fault that you-"

"Not that again. Go be useful for once you hyperactive little twit and take down that guy in the basement." Sam growled out over his small headset. He had to use the headset to communicate with his teammates instead of the walkie talkie because the thing was too big and it was his private line with Percy.

"Roger that Captain ADHD."

Sam face palmed and secretly hoped Pip would get captured and tortured. The guy was a jerk to almost everyone and only got to stick around because he took the jobs that no one else wanted. Sam had plenty of respect for the chipmunk's abilities, and even admired the bravery Pip had, but he was always going to be a brutish, pretentious ass.

"Who's got the two moving into the bedrooms?" Sam asked. Usiah was over there but he was a bit of a coward. It served his Talent well though. When it came down to it, Sam would trust Usiah with his life. Period.

"Usiah. Come in Usiah. Its your turn buddy."

"No way. Ask Hex to do it."

"She's guarding the street just in case these guys call in for back up." Sam said. This would be one frustrating conversation if Usiah had his way.

"Well I'm not doing it."

"See, I told you he was a scared little girl. What's wrong Usiah? The big bad men got you shaking in fear?" Pip taunted. Usiah huffed and cut off communications.

* * *

Pip gave a last soft laugh over the headset as he ran on all fours through the air ducts. From there he too cut off communications. The fun was about to begin. He kicked open the grate, the rusted screws easily coming loose. He ran out and dashed behind a box of old toys as his human prey turned around in surprise.

"Hey Tom, I think I've got something…"

Pip snickered and dashed around the staircase, the human turning around just as the small chipmunk escaped sight. "This thing's fast! I think I migh- Oof" The human grunted as a large furry object crashed into his stomach. He tried to swat the chipmunk as it dashed around him faster than he could see.

Pip circled the human round and round before leaping up and crashing into the human's face. He leapt off the armed man just in time, the man landing in a pained heap next to a box full of old recording equipment.

"I need… backup." The human called out over the radio. He pointed his gun at the blur and fired two shots which missed its intended target completely.

"You need to improve your aim." Pip grabbed a flute from a box filled with music instruments and dropped it level to the human. With his tiny arms the chipmunk lifted the instrument and steadied it. He sped up, going at a straight run with the instrument leveled at the human. When the flute made contact with the gun, the instrument broke and a large fragment lodged itself into the chamber of the gun.

The human fired a round mistakenly, the bullet shattering instantly and sending bullet and flute fragments everywhere. A few caught him in the arm and he dropped the gun instantly.

"Damnit!"

Pip took the largest fragment of the flute he could find and zipped to the other end of the room. "Eat this!" He charged and with a single smack his prey's head was knocked into the nearby wall. The human fell into unconsciousness.

"Whew. Your not so tough heh." Pip gave himself one last pat on the back before reopening communications.

"-dirty, good for nothing, little rat!"

Pip wanted to laugh, he really did, but the sound of glass crashing to the floor sent him speeding upstairs.

* * *

Vex opened her eyes. She was sleeping inside the pantry, choosing to catch up on some sleep before getting back to her favorite job in the world: one-upping her sister. She'd made a bet with Hex that she would save her sister this day. Vex had every intention of keeping her promise.

"Vex, you've got one coming straight at you. Watch out." Sam called out over the comms.

Vex stood and dusted herself off. She took a long, hazy look at herself. She wore a dark purple dress with a large pink rose on the bottom. It was her favorite. She was so tired... but duty called and the girl focused her mind on the human awaiting just outside.

* * *

Retired U.S. Marine Corps officer Ernest Willcos opened the pantry door. It was empty besides the few remaining items still left within. Jell-O boxes and pancake mix hid nothing but unappetizing dust.

"I knew I heard a squeaky voice coming from here. Stupid brown rats…" He shut the pantry door and was getting ready to head back into the living room when a soft, squeaky voice called out to him.

"Psst. Human. I'm a chipmunk, not a brown rat." Called Vex. She hanged with various pots and pans, taunting him.

"Just stay still you little r- I mean chipmunk." He slowly approached her then lunged. He found only pain. Instead of a female chipmunk he had tried to grab a large pot and his fingers smashed painfully against the metal.

"Playing tricks on me eh? Why don't you come out where I can see you if you're so smart." He called out.

"Willcos who the hell are you talking to?" Tomas Powell called from behind the television set.

"Just a dirty rat that's getting what's coming to her." He responded, his eyes catching the sight of a brown, bushy tail.

"Stop messing around and get to work!"

"Hn…" He responded. He was so close now, almost within reach. He swiped at her but only found air.

"What the…" He turned to continue the search but a pan crashed into his face. He grabbed his nose, feeling the warm sensation of blood trickle down his nose and into his hands.

"Willcos what the hell are you… doing?" Everything began turning black before Powell's eyes. He couldn't see anything, like there was a blindfold over his eyes. He blinked around, confused and down one of his senses. The armed man tried to pull at what was covering his eyes but felt nothing.

"Oh, is this one of your little tricks? Cmon then, show me a few more." Powell readied himself. He could still hear clearly and he could feel the objects around him. "What, scared of big bad me? I thought rats were braver than that."

"I'm not a rat!" returned Vex. Powell heard her, guessing her location and firing off not one, or two, but three shots. Glass shattered and Vex screamed. The veil was lifted from Powell's eyes and he smirked. "Aww, did I hit you?"

Vex was nursing her tail which had a small glass shard poking through it. She shook as the tears ran down her face in a torrent of pain. Her headset had fallen off and hit the floor, while she lay on a book in the bookcase. An empty glass vase had shattered and a large glass fragment had stabbed through her tail.

"Don't tell me your done cause of one little flesh wound. Ah well, I didn't expect much from a brown, filthy rat." He picked up his cage and walked to the wounded chipmunk. She spat in his face and his smile all but disappeared. He looked to punch the chipmunk until a large, maroon van crashed through a nearby wall and knocked into him, sending him flying into Dave's large Panasonic flat screen.

An unconscious man was hunched over the steering wheel, then knocked back by the airbag. Hex climbed up to the cracked windshield and waved to her sister happily. "Hey sis! What happened to your tail?"

"Nothing much. Except that I have a piece of glass stuck in my tail. You mind helping me out?" Vex groaned in pain and tried to shift into a less painful position.

"Ouch. That looks like it hurts." Hex remarked. She climbed out of the van through the open passenger window and hurtled to the floor. She walked calmly over to the headset and put it on, the worried voice of Sam coming over loud and clear.

"Sam, we need help moving Vex out of here. She's injured."

"How are we supposed to do that? Where's the car you guys hijacked?"

Hex laughed at Sam's ignorance. "_We_ didn't do anything. Percy got us into Dave's car and we busted out when he drove back from wherever he went. Anyway, there _is_ this van I crashed into the house."

The chipette rolled her eyes at the frenzied yelling Sam was doing over his headset."YOU WHAT? Do you have any idea how furious Percy's going to be? He'll eat me out alive, then spit my remains at your broken and bleeding bodies after he kicks each and every one of your collective-"

"Shut up. You know how to drive right?"

"Oh. Oh! No no no no no. There is no way I'm driving that-"

Hex face palmed. Why did Percy keep this guy around again? "Just come over here and drive the damned thing! You talk too damn much you know that?."

"It's a curse." Sam wisecracked. Then he remembered the van that Hex had driven into the Seville house. "This is going to suck so hard."

Willcos stood and pointed his gun at the obnoxious chipmunk wearing the headset. She probably killed Powell but now it was her turn to suffer. He aimed… and felt something latch onto his wrist. The thing bit and he dropped the gun immediately.

"Pick on someone your own size!" Pip growled. He continued hanging on, refusing to let go of the human's hand. Willcos grabbed the small chipmunk and threw him at the van. Pip crashed into the vehicle and fell to the ground. He coughed up blood and began to lose consciousness.

"Terry, Nick, get over here!" The man called out. There was no response. "Terry, where are you? Nick?" A crash of porcelain and then a flush graced everyone's ears and soon after a terrified Usiah came walking into the kitchen. He wrapped his yellow scarf around his neck and straightened it out.

"You do not want to go in there." He said. Willcos grabbed a nearby pan and tried to throw it at the scarf wearing chipmunk. Hex snapped her fingers and the man lost his grip on the makeshift weapon. He turned around only to trip and knocked his head over the kitchen counter. He was out cold.

"Usiah, where are the other two humans?" Asked Sam into his headset. He

"They, uh. Right. Some questions are better left to better times. Let's get out of here before the police come."

"Agreed. Start the van, I'll be over there in a sec." Sam called.

* * *

"I love this shirt we bought Dave. It'll so good with your khakis and that hat we got at a steal."

"You call fifty bucks a steal?" Dave asked incredulously. Brittany had refused the bargin bin, enjoying the more… _expensive _items on sale.

"Dave, you have to pay a price for fashion. Besides, you want to look good when you meet Claire don't you?" She asked. Alvin snickered from his place in Dave's shirt pocket. She turned and glared. "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing." He innocently replied. Simon rolled his eyes and realized what he was doing. He was breaking out into laughter randomly to expressly anger Brittany. The worst part was, she fell for it every time.

"Really, now. I'm pretty sure there_ is_ a certain something your laughing at, or maybe a certain _someone_."

"No really its nothing. I swear." Alvin said with a smirk. He could barely contain his laughter.

"Whatever. I don't care." Brittany lied. She gave a look to Eleanor but the girl was too busy eating a bunch of cinnamon rolls inside a paper bag with Theodore to care. Jeanette was leaning on Simon's shoulder, whispering things to him and he'd chuckle softly every once in a while. She was on Dave's shoulder, talking to him until _someone_ had so rudely interrupted her. She made to speak with Dave again until Alvin broke out in another bout of pitched laughter.

"Alright. That's it! Tell me just what exactly do you find so funny?" She told him. But he continued to laugh uproariously. Brittany growled and vaulted into Dave's pocket, attacking her red-clad counterpart.

"Ow, ouch claws kids, watch your claws!" Dave exclaimed. His shirt pocket was ruined, torn apart in Brittany's induced fury.

"Can't you kids behave? Alright look, you kids can stay over there," he pointed at a medium sized table in the back of the food court. "until I change out of this shirt. Don't. Move." He told them. With a final, pointed look at Alvin he grabbed a shirt from the shopping bags and headed to the bathroom. Alvin turned to Brittany who grabbed him by his hoodie and pulled him close.

"You think you're so much better than me don't you Alvin. Huh? Well?"

Alvin looked at the other four chipmunks who all told him to say no. He thought about it for a full minute, letting the furious chipette simmer for a while longer.

"I guess I don't." He surmised. Brittany looked at him funny for a second and the other four chipmunks visibly relaxed as Alvin chose not to confront Brittany.

"I mean, if I thought I was better at being a self-centered, whiny little brat I'd say so." He added a moment later. _I should have known that Alvin wouldn't listen to smart advice. _Simon thought. He buried his face into his palm as Brittany and Alvin got into another fight.

"I hate when they get like this." Theodore said aloud. Jeanette nodded in agreement.

"They wouldn't be our siblings if they didn't fight like this." Simon added.

The video feed to the Seville residence disappeared when a van crashed into the house and knocked out the commanding agent.

"Mr. Holstein, we've lost contact with the first team."

"What?"

"The second team is in position. Should I give the order?"

"Yes, have them move in immediately. This is our last chance. We can't let them escape." He responded. He held onto the railing in front of him so tightly, his knuckles turned white. He could see the chipmunks talking amongst each other on a lone table. He was so close to finally capturing them.

* * *

_Those idiots are standing right there in the open. They've got three of them already moving in!_ Percy thought frantically. _I need to get them out of here and fast!_

He was tiring. His Talent had drained him enough already and what he was about to do now was going to push him far beyond his established limits. Did he give a damn? Not when his friends were in danger.

_I'm coming Brittany. _He didn't realize that he was so close until he could see the human up close. He had a young, soft baby face. His eyes were a pale blue, devoid of emotion. His hand held a hidden weapon, slightly covered by the plain gray vest. Percy saw him, and he wouldn't forget. He never did.

The man's face contorted in pain. His body seized in a bout of deep, blazing, unbearable agony."Oh, damn." The man fell to the floor, an onrush of passerby coming to his aid.

Percy hopped over the downed man and onto a nearby table, dashing to the next enemy. The man saw Percy coming in time and swatted the chipmunk away. He ran to the six chipmunks conversing at the lone table in the back of the food court. Percy felt a deep pounding in his head. He was abusing himself at this point. But he had to push on.

The chipmunk used his Talent and slowed down the egressing human. The man's sluggishness allowed the toothpick wielding chipmunk to catch up and with a choice stab, Percy drove his spear into the right leg of the human. He saw the human crash to the ground a few feet short of the chipmunks and a flurry of activity began as bystanders saw him attack the human. _This is not good. _

The other man entered the toxin into his blowpipe but refrained from shooting the chipmunk who'd singlehandedly struck down two of his men. There were too many witnesses, too many innocents that could get hit. He decided to smooth the situation and opened communications with the Institute Headquarters.

"Mr. Holstein. I believe now would be a good time to retreat to fight another day. The chipmunk has already attracted too much attention."

In the control room, John growled and let go of the railing. "Fine. Get to the parking lot, a black van will be there in five minutes." The operators began speaking rapidly into their headsets, coordinating an evacuation of the second squad back to the Institute's headquarters.

The human groaned and tried to rise but a weight sank on him, steadily rising until he hit the floor. Percy stood above, snapping his fingers and locking the weight in place.

"Percy? What the h-"

"Follow me. Now. We've got to get out of here."

"Wait a second. I'm not moving an inch until you give me a reason why I shouldn't beat you senseless for blowing me off back at the house." Brittany had her arms crossed and her head cocked in a arrogant manner.

Percy felt himself rise again as the man below him tried to lift the invisible weight. Percy snapped his fingers and the man fell back to the floor with a grunt. Percy felt a grin pull and tug at the corners of his mouth but that quickly gave way to lightheadedness. He forgot to relax on using the Talent so much. His stomach was jumping around and sending him into a bout of nausea but he brutally suppressed it. He still thought he was to young for this crap.

"Oh crap… Okay look we don't have time for this. I'll tell you all everything. Absolutely everything. I swear to you on my honor and on the honor of my family that I'll tell you but we have to go. Now!" He could see another human closing in on them. He wore the same dirty gray vest and held a hidden weapon within it in the same manner as the other man.

Come to think of it, where was that other guy? He was trying to stand up but kept falling down. Several phones were out, most likely to call an ambulance or the police. Neither was good right now.

"We have to wait for Dave. He's in the bathroom changing." Theodore replied. He gave a small glare for the curse, but overlooked it in favor of his confusion. Why were these men running at them? Who was this chipmunk? When was Dave coming back?

"Yeah Theo. We're not leaving until Dave comes back. I'm putting my paw down on this one!" Alvin added. He embraced his brother with one arm and stood defiantly against Percy. The older chipmunk simply buried his face into his palm. Oh yes, Alvin was definitely the type to ruin his plans. He'd have to channel that in his favor.

"Know what? Dave will die if they see you with him." He pointed at the man on the floor and the other watching them carefully from across the food court. We have to get out of here before more come, or the police. I'm in no shape to fight and I'm not in the mood to run from police. Brittany, you know me the best out of anyone here. Would I come to you with this if I wasn't serious?" Percy pleaded. Brittany opened her eyes in realization. How could she forget? Their very first Christmas. Jeanette being captured by a fox. That devastating forest fire. Her memories returned to her like a floodgate crashing under pressure. "We've got to go with him guys. Cmon!"

She hopped down and joined Percy. The human was only a table away, trying to hop over a wheelchair. Jeanette and Eleanor followed their sister, with Simon and Theodore following them. Alvin alone stood on the table with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Oh come on! As if a bunch of dudes are trying to hurt _us._ I mean, they probably just want some autographs or something." Alvin exclaimed. He look to his brothers for support and received none. The six chipmunks gave him dirty glares and he caved."Oh fine. But if this is a joke-"

"Shut up Alvin and follow, Percy was it? If the girls trust in him then there's no reason why we should not." Simon yelled.

Alvin joined the group of chipmunks and the seven began dashing out of the food court amidst calls for a doctor and shouts about The Chipmunks running way. Percy could only concentrate on his sapping strength. He was going to throw up soon, and it wasn't going to be pretty. But he had to get them to safety. There would be time for barfing in the car. He lead them and they hurdled into the elevator as soon as it opened. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore formed a tower, allowing Alvin to press the ground floor button.

"I have a van waiting outside. If we can get to it, we escape." Alvin scoffed and Brittany gave him the most vicious glare he'd ever seen.

An eternity seem to go by inside that compartment, the slow elevator dinging as it skipped the third and second floors. When it stopped at the first the group dashed out into mall and headed for the exit. They could see a beat up, dusty, maroon van awaiting just out front. Sam was the first to greet them from the driver's side window.

"Hey boss, where ya been? Oh snap are those the Chipettes? Damn, you guys ha-" Sam called from the driver's seat window until his leader interrupted him.

"Yes yes, they've grown. Long time, no see. Fantastic. You guys get inside and Sam…"

"Yeah boss?"

"Get us the hell out of here."

* * *

End chapter 3.

Okay, major edits. I fixed a lot of what I didn't like, which was like half the entire damn thing. It's still impressive, but if you've read the chapter I suggest to read it again. Much has been changed because of my real bad first draft. Also, this is the largest chapter I've ever written for a story... ever. It's nearly 5000 words long and took me all of today July 13, 2010. You guys better damn like it hehe.

I've also broken 10000 words for the first time! I'm like around 12000 and would like to thank the six people who reviewed my crap story. Seriously, you guys make all this possible. I'm also turning anonymous reviews on in hopes that my fans(all 0 of them lol.) will be able to tell me how much this story sucks.

Nah but seriously give me a review and tell me your thoughts you guys!


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hm... not much of a response. One review, few hits. That makes me a sad writer.

Lackofreviewsitus is the greatest killer of fan fic writers out there. We at the institute wish to let the public know of how they can pitch in to save our dying writers.

1) Drop a review every other chapter. It may not seem like much, but reviews are actually what many of us want to see. That, and hits. Hits do make us happy but we don't really know if people like our story or not.

2) Visit our author page. Those kind of hits really make us happy. It's where we showcase our entourage of friends, beta readers, and stories. Some of us even tidy up with set areas for upcoming story ideas and character bios.

3) Send an email. While normally I'd perfer a review, emails are just as good. Really, it warms my heart to communicate with another reader or writer. Also, it reminds me to check the damn thing. (I.E. I use a seperate email for this account to avoid spam on my main account.)

Any donation of emails/reviews/hits you guys are able to donate saves another writer. Please think about the writers.

* * *

"Oh. My. God! This is amazing Percy!" Brittany exclaimed. A miniature metropolis sprawled around her in all directions. The buildings were... strange to say the least. Each started blocky and rectangular at the bottom, but slowly became cylinder shaped and connected with other buildings. The buildings formed a canopy of intertwining and interconnecting hallways and corridors at the top. It was absolutely beautiful.

Chipmunks of all shapes and sizes walked down the wide but miniature sidewalks and conversed in their own world. And what a world it was.

"How did you guys manage all of this down here?"

"I believe the better question would be: Why hasn't anyone come across this before?" Simon added. He was curious. The construction of such buildings had to have made noise. There were other questions zipping across his mind. He restrained himself however. Unlike Alvin, he had self-control and there was no way he was going to be like Alvin.

Theodore's belly rumbled and the group turned to look at him. Eleanor giggled and rubbed her own belly. "I think we missed dinner. Got anything to eat Mr. Percy?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Of course, how could I forget that?" Percy went to snap his fingers but hesitated. He still hadn't gone to see the doctor, nor had he gone to check on his team.

"Right uh. We're going to take a little detour. I'll send Sam to get us all food while we talk to Dr. Williams."

"What? Again?" Sam called out from over the headset around Percy's neck. "I'm not your maid Percy. I'm a freaking genius. My I.Q. is way over 150. I singlehandedly created our entire communications network and designed the-"

"Does it look like I give a damn?" Percy yelled back over the comms. A short but uncomfortable silence went by until Sam responded.

"Uh... boss? I can't see you."

"You know what I mean. Now do this for me and I'll get you another IPod."

"You mean another I_Pad_."

"Whatever!" Percy buried his face into his palm in frustration. Sam was his best friend but the guy had his issues. Everyone did. He gave a pointed look at Jeanette but she paid more attention to the antics of her little sister.

"Ok. Right this way, and watch out for F."

"F.? What are those, Fat Fuzzy Olives?" Alvin questioned jokingly. The deadpan expressions of everyone present let him know just how bad his joke was. Alvin gave a few nervous coughs while Simon shook his head in embarrassment.

"Erm… No. They're Flying Furry Objects. Some of us have… Talents that are a bit out of the ordinary. I'll explain it to you at Dr. William's office."

* * *

Tendrils coiled around a heart of gold. They wrapped their black, inky bodies around the radiant organ, attempting to slow the pumping of light across the universe. Sharp rows of teeth gleamed deep within the darkness where the tendrils originated.

"We are not evil!" they cried. They ripped and tore at each other, crying to the heavens. White tears dropped down their cheeks. The fat, white drops continued on into the crevices of eternity.

"Free! We wish to be free!" They yelled.

The heart pumped faster and faster. The brilliance of ten thousand suns radiated from it. The tendrils turned gray and thick, releasing the organ and returning into the dark abyss. They grabbed the creatures with the gleaming teeth and pulled them apart, limb from limb.

"Embrace who you are not, and become who you are! Eternity awaits!" They screamed.

* * *

Usiah awoke screaming. He could hear a noise louder than anything he'd ever heard in his life. He felt warm liquid pour out of ears and felt his heart constrict. He couldn't breathe. White consumed his vision, surrounding him. His eyes felt like they would pop out of his head and his brain crashed against his skull, sending huge tremors of pain through his spine.

The chipmunk thrashed about, not caring about the pain anymore. He could feel his body collide with solids but could only see white. His fists crashed into walls but he could only see white. He could feel the soft fur of another but could only see white.

And then it all went black.

* * *

**34 Hours ago…**

Ian watched his mark yell loudly into his cell phone, drawing the attention of everyone around him. Yes this was a perfect target…

The man wore a three hundred dollar suit and a fancy red Italian tie. He had a gold Rolex watch and an expensive wedding ring. His necklace shone brilliantly in the light, matching his wedding ring in value.

Ian saw the man yell a bit more into his phone before he hanged up, no doubt ending the conversation on whoever he was talking to. Ian felt himself fall into a scowl. This guy thought he was better than everyone else. His clothes and attitude screamed it. The man walked in his direction and Ian stood from his park bench and walked in the same direction.

He could see the guy close up now. His ever present sneer as he looked down on everyone else. Ian bumped into the man lightly and he yelled "Watch It!" in return. The man shook his head and continued walking across the park, feeling a bit lighter. He felt around for his wallet and realized exactly what happened.

"Forty, fifty, seventy, one hundred and seventy?" Ian grinned and did a little victory dance. He loved pick pocketing the arrogant suckers who walked in _his _park. He took a seat in his small, one bedroom apartment and became a bit more somber.

He missed his mansion, he missed his wealth, he missed his position in Jett Records. All of that gone because of a bunch of stupid animals. _If I ever see those little-_

His phone rang, interrupting his train of thought. The caller I.D. showed a restricted number. Ian ignored it but for some reason the phone continued to ring. Ian answered the phone and hanged up soon after, setting the phone on the table so he could continue to count money.

The phone rang only seconds later and Ian growled in frustration. He took the phone and disconnected it from the wall, setting it all down on the floor. _Finally, some quiet._

Then his cell phone rang. He checked the number only to show the same restricted name. Ian opened his phone up and removed the battery, reveling in the quiet. A knock at his door interrupted him. _I wonder who that could be…_

"Who is it? Hello?_" _No answer. Ian chewed his lip and decided to listen for noises. There was nothing. The hallway wasn't usually this quiet.

He cracked the door open and looked around but no one was there. That was odd. On the floor was a lone cell phone. It rang loudly and obnoxiously, waking one of his neighbors. The cursing and yelling said as much.

Ian picked up the phone and answered it quickly, before his large and unruly neighbor decided to break through the wall like the kool-aid man. "Hello?"

"Hello Mr. Hawke. I'm glad you reconsidered answering the phone. Your next door neighbor isn't the type to mince words."

"Who is this? How do you know my name?" Ian asked quietly. Terry was already punching the walls in anger and throwing around furniture. Any more noise could turn his destruction in this direction. Ian didn't want to experience that again. The last time he had to pay three hundred bucks just to fix his wall, and he still hadn't replaced his television.

"Oh, right. How rude of me. My name is Dr. Eric Johansson and I'm with the Institute of Human Affairs. How badly do you want revenge?"

* * *

"_We_ have arrived." A flurry of movement.

Light pours over a sea of green. "The Puppet Master has served us well. Shall we knight him?" Arms wrap around a stiff body. He leads, she follows.

"And shall we reward stupidity with honor?"

She stiffens, he stops. She glares, he groans. She leads, he follows. Her dress floats in the wind as the two take to the air. This is her domain.

"Shall we punish diligent duty to our cause?" He surrenders, she wins. He pushes, she pulls. He whirls, she twirls. The dance of eternity.

* * *

Dr. Willaims finished restraining Usiah onto his bed, groaning in pain at the blow delivered to his head. Percy was the one to be dealing with this crap. He'd visited Usiah to deliver medication for migraines but Usiah had gone insane or _something_. The man had nearly killed him in his mad tantrum.

Other strange things had happened as well. Usiah had died. Yes _died_. Then he came back to life five minutes later. Ever since, Usiah had jumped the line between life and death like it was nothing. He tried every medical diagnosis and prognosis in the books and even some theories. Nothing explained it. Even his Talent couldn't tell him what was going on in Usiah's mind and body.

There was nothing to do except watch. Everything he tried didn't effect what Usiah was going through. So, in his expert medical opinion, all that was left was to catch up on his reading.

* * *

"Dr. Williams? Dr. Williaaammmssssss?" Percy scratched his head as he searched the small clinic for his favorite doctor in the entire world.

The Chipmunks and Chipettes explored the clinic with wonder in their eyes. Other chipmunks stared at them with curiosity .

"Hey Percy! How did you-"

"-Get all this stuff so small?" He responded, anticipating the question. "Sam can manipulate technology. He miniaturized each and every individual part then rebuilt the machines from the ground up."

"That's quite impressive." Jeanette remarked. She stared at the size of the medical machines she'd only seen on T.V.

"Yeah but don't tell Sam that. Can't let his ego grow. He'd become unbearable. I'm sure you know the type."

Simon gave a pointed look at Alvin who gave a pointed look at Brittany who pinched Alvin in anger. _Maybe next time he'll think before messing with me. _She thought. The idea seemed ridiculous though. Alvin was too immature and boyish to resist annoying her. She'd never admit it, but she dreamed of a mature and classy Alvin sweeping her off her feet. He was so much like Simon…

"I don't know why Dr. Williams isn't here. I'm afraid that I wont be able to use my Talent without any medical attention. I was going to… well never mind." His plans could wait until after dinner after all.

* * *

**24 Hours Ago…**

Vex awoke groggily. She knew that smell. Antiseptic, rubbing alcohol, and latex.

"Dr. Williams… Wh-where am I?" She asked. The good doctor rushed to her side in an instant, examining the monitors and holding her steady. She was on her belly for some reason. That was odd.

"Just lay still. You'll upset the wound."

"What?"

Vex tried to play with her tail as she did when she was nervous or confused but she couldn't feel it swishing around in the air. She felt so light and unbalanced. Then it came to her. The wound, the blood, passing out in the van.

"Doc, where's my tail?"

"I need you to stay calm. This may shock you."

"Where. Is. My. Tail."

"We… had to amputate."

* * *

End Chapter 5

So right. You guys are awesome.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I think the five people who have read this story will enjoy this chapter. Read faithfully and you shall receive.

**

* * *

**

Percy watched the second most powerful chipmunk he'd ever know stare at the wall blankly. She was thinner and paler than he remembered. She used to be filled with so much life and enthusiasm. She used to be so playful and coy. The way she teased and taunted him…

Now she was lying weak and helpless on a hospital bed, totally unresponsive to everything around her.

"Maybe you should get some rest Percy. She'll be here in the morning."

Percy looked up and saw the caring face of Dr. Williams. The man had saved their lives time and time again. If he had to amputate, it was for a good reason. Everyone held a mutual trust in him, _everyone. _

Percy had the greatest reason to trust him, even if he didn't always show it.

"Alright… You know where to reach me if anything happens."

**

* * *

**

Usiah could see everything. The universe, the heavens, the hellish plains, and the endless oceans. Nothing was out of his sight, and everything was at his grasp. He could actually feel eternity, the eons passing through his fingers like water in a stream. It was all beautiful really…

He felt tired all at once. His legs became jelly and his head lolled from side to side. The only place to rest was a golden throne far within the heavens. It looked so comfortable to sit on…

He looked around to see if anyone was looking but there was no one around. Usiah nervously bit his lip. "Well… maybe I'll sit for just a moment."

He approached the throne, the seat shining brilliantly every step he took. He was so close. Maybe just a minutes. Or an hour.

No one would care if he sat down for a couple of hours, right? He sat upon the throne, looking at the whole of the universe from his seat. His seat was comfortable but it was strangely becoming hotter. He looked down and saw light pouring out of the throne. Usiah grimaced and tried to get up but he was stuck to the seat. More light poured out of the throne and Usiah frantically tried to rise from the seat; a futile effort.

Brilliance poured from every pore, consuming him in hot white light.

**

* * *

**

**One month ago…**

"How long has he been like this?" Percy asked. Pip was lying unconscious on the hospital in front of him. He was so quiet it was unnerving. Pip was usually bounding off the walls and raising all hell.

"He's been in a coma since his last mission. He came back with major skull fractures and deep bruising of the brain. By all accounts, he should be dead."

"Many of us should be doctor. When is he going to wake up?"

Dr. Williams hesitated to say anything. Percy was the only one who knew Dr. William's second job. As the only mortician in a city of five hundred plus, he was quite busy when not treating countless patients. The sick, the dying, and the long dead all came to his door.

Self-therapy did nothing to comfort him. "Give him time Percy. It can be weeks, maybe even months before he rouses. Now I have a surgery in five minutes and you have guests to entertain." Percy gave the doctor a short nod to the doctor who smiled warmly in return. "Thanks… dad."

**

* * *

**

**Still one month ago…**

Dave felt so weak and tired. His boys were gone and he didn't know if he'd get them back…

As if he didn't have enough to worry about, his home was left utterly destroyed. The police had arrested the men who crashed a van through his home and wrecked everything in sight. Including his new Panasonic. Claire had been generous enough to let him stay over for a few months; at least until the repairs were completed on his house. She catered to whatever he needed, which wasn't much. And despite it all…

He couldn't stop thinking about the boys.

Why didn't he just stay with them? Why didn't he keep better control over Alvin? Now they were gone. A week had gone by and there was no ransom and no sight of the boys. The police told him that every day that passed lessened the chance of finding the boys.

He couldn't bear not seeing them ever again. His boys were gone and he didn't know if he'd get them back…

**

* * *

**

"Is she going to be all right Percy?" Theodore innocently asked the chipmunk. Percy looked at him funny, his eyes going wide with realization.

The truth was, Percy had just seen the condemned up close. Theodore's visage had turned vicious and beastly. Blood dripped from his maw filled with rows of dirty, yellow, razor sharp teeth. The scariest thing was his eyes. They were completely and utterly black.

"Percy?"

He shook out of his fear-filled stupor. Theodore was normal… for now. This was an omen and a disturbing one at that. He'd have to teach the group about their Talents soon. "Vex is fine. She's still pretty out of it, though I wouldn't know how it feels to lose a tail." Percy lied through his teeth. Getting your tail cut off was a traumatic experience. He endured such an experience _twice_.

It was like losing your legs or being blinded. You learned to cope, but you never stopped yearning for your sight or legs.

"Well… What do we do now?" A bored Alvin called out from the floor. He was staring at the painting of the universe on the ceiling. It… was soothing for some reason.

"Well you do have to return home soon." He answered slowly. Everyone gave him nervous, telling looks. "I know your all scared but you Chipmunks have a dad and a public life as musical artists to return to." Percy sensed something was up. The danger sized them up and stared them down. Something he said must have set off the alarms in his head.

"You_ are _coming back with us, aren't you? We won't be able to defend ourselves if those men come back." Eleanor looked to her sisters who both readily agreed.

"Look as much as I enjoy being around you guys, I have people to lead here; Five hundred and sixty seven chipmunks in total. Besides, those guys won't dare try again. So long as this event is fresh in the minds of the public, your untouchable."

"He's right. Too many people are still thinking and talking about us. With so much attention focused in our direction, any attempts to… attack us now will fail." Simon added with understanding in his voice.

"Even if that's true, we won't be safe forever. You have this entire city underneath some sleazy motel well outside of Los Angeles. How are you supposed to protect us?" Jeanette asked. She wouldn't admit it, but her heart fluttered when he was around; her stalwart protector.

"This isn't constructive. You need to be out in the public eye and milk this for all its worth."

"Milk this? This is a tragedy Percy! Dave is out there worrying himself sick, three of your friends are lying in hospital beds, and armed, dangerous men are looking for us." Simon retorted. He now stood from his chair and confronted Percy, anger evident in his hard glare.

"You don't think I care? I'm torn apart on the inside Simon. My heart feels like its been ripped out of my chest and thrown into a blender then served to the devil as a milkshake. I feel constant remorse and regret knowing that it was me who lead them into that situation.

And I wasn't even fighting side by side with them. I was saving your lives."

Simon backed off but Percy kept going. He grabbed the taller chipmunk by the shirt and dragged him to eye level. He made to speak, but saw Jeanette in his peripheral vision. She had shock written on her face. Throwing the blue-clad chipmunk into his chair, he grabbed Jeanette and dragged her into the back room.

"Percy, what are you doing? Let go of her!" Brittany shouted as her brainy sister was dragged off by her lifelong friend. Percy threw the girl into another room and gave the rest of the group a dark look.

"I'll be right back." He snapped his finger and an iron slab instantly snapped up to block the doorway. The shock in the room's occupants was broken when Jeanette's scream came moments later.

"Jeanette!" Simon charged at the iron slab but could not knock it over. It was thick and resilient. Simon looked at everything in the room, anything that would open a way to his counterpart. Wooden chairs and lamps were ineffective tools. He walked aggressively towards Brittany, the chipette recoiling in surprise.

"Where did he take her Brittany? Where!" Simon grabbed her arms forcefully. She pulled away, fearing his sudden angry demeanor but he continued holding her in place.

"I-I don't know. Simon, please. Your _hurting_ me."

He looked down and saw him digging his claws into her. He released the chipette immediately and walked to the corner of the room. He sat down and hugged his legs and covered his head. The implications of this day were already sky high. Simon didn't care. He had broken a promise this day, an oath.

He'd lost control of himself.

* * *

"Percy, please. Your _hurting_ me." Jeanette whispered. Percy advanced on her with a smirk on his face, the look of an arrogant predator.

"What's that? Speak up girl, I can't hear you." He dragged a claw down the side of her cheek and she looked up in fear. The older chipmunk lost his smile and grabbed her again. She began screaming and tearing at his hands but he refused to let go.

"Cmon Jeanette, tell me what's wrong. Tell me exactly what you think of me." He threw her to the other side of the small room, watching her bounce painfully off the ground and into the wall.

"You've went through life sitting in the sidelines, watching everyone else succeed and surpass you. You've spent every day bottling in your feelings towards those around you. Brittany with her entitlement issues; You've always wanted to put her in her place, to sit her down and remind her just how pathetic she really was." Jeanette rose slowly watching the older chipmunk warily.

"And then we have Eleanor. She always disagrees with your plans and complains when things don't go her way. You wanted to tell her just how stupid she really was. You wished to show her just how wrong she was every time she opened her fat mouth." Jeanette glared at Percy this time. But for some reason, she didn't want him to stop talking. His words… they hit a tone.

And she couldn't help but listen.

"You love them though, and so you stay silent. You've ignored your true self Jeanette. You're a smart girl, use your Talent. Cmon, show me who you really are. Show me what you can really do."

The bookish girl had no idea what Percy was talking about. His words though… she felt compelled to _do something_. He began walking again, but in the wrong direction. He was moving in the opposite direction, talking to the wall.

He perked up and threw a punch at the wall. She grimaced at the crunch of bone. Percy simply stared at his wounded fist, the wounds mending quickly.

"Ah, so you have unlocked it. Tell me Jeanette, do you feel it? The Talent. Can you feel its pull?" he called out, still lost to her location but certain of her presence.

"What?"

"Aha!" He charged in the direction of the sound and she panicked. Suddenly, Percy began pulling at his ears, going down in his knees and screaming. Jeanette continued to panic, causing Percy to flip over on his back. He rolled back and forth, one bloody paw tearing at the ground and another holding his right ear tightly.

"Jeanette... you have... to calm... down! Your Talent… its… killing me…" Percy choked out as his voice began to disappear. He flopped around on the floor like a fish out of water. Worried for his life she took long, deep breaths. The effect was immediate. He let go of his ears and sighed blissfully. He looked at her with tired eyes, seeing the resemblance. _She's so much like Vex..._

"Hah… whew… you've unlocked… it…" he wheezed painfully. The prone chipmunk snapped his fingers together and the blood pouring out of his ears reentered his body. His energy slowly returned and he managed to stand, if a bit shaken up. Jeanette recoiled back in fear. She didn't know who Percy was anymore. He had changed during their separation, and Jeanette wondered if she'd changed as well.

Percy, seeing the look in her eye, became indifferent. "Relax, its okay. My test worked. Tell me, how does it feel to have a Talent?"

**

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**

End Chapter 6

So wow… I hate writing at 3 A.M. EST

I'll be setting up a poll soon to allow you guys to vote on who I should write powers for next. For this reason, chapters will be coming in every two to three days to give people enough time to vote.

I've also edited this chapter. The changes are mostly near the end but it should be a lot easier on the eyes and much more interesting.

Make sure you head to my author page and catch that poll. Thanks!


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

So yeah, not too many people went and voted on my poll. That sucks… Three people in total.

Either way, I do have a tie between two choices and one of you readers can change that. Vote in my poll and elect which character(s) you want to see gain powers. Note that this is not romance. At least not for now.

If I were to do such a thing in my story, I'd have to get support from the fanbase. If you want to see romance between the characters, let me know. How you ask? Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the link that says leave a review. Heck, you don't even have to be logged in with an account to do so.

TL;DR) Vote on my poll, leave a review to see romance.

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* * *

**

Percy lay there on the floor, cradling his quickly bruising eye and wondering how things had spiraled down so far and so fast. Why was he on the floor with a black eye? Where were the other chipmunks at? Why did he feel like an ass?

He laid there and remembered…

**

* * *

**

The iron slab sank into the floor revealing a shaken Jeanette and a slightly hurt Percy. Simon didn't react, instead choosing to sit there in his corner and block himself out from the world. The rest of the chipmunks however, quickly crowded the two. Brittany pulled Jeanette from Percy's side and stood in front of her defensively. Alvin took a more hostile stance and looked ready to fight but Percy dismissed their intentions with a wave of his hand.

"Christ, are you people always this angry? Me and Jeanette had a talk is all. I suppose we should all talk right now." The group looked confused, but stood aggressively against the larger chipmunk. "If you really must know, I taught Jeanette to use her Talent."

"You attacked me!"

"Ah, but that was what it took to draw your Talent out." Percy replied, waving a condescending finger at them. "Why don't we all take a seat, hmm?"

They looked at one another questioningly, but curiosity overcame their caution. They sat on the plush seats and waited for Percy's explanation for his actions. He grinned and snapped his fingers, the iron slab returning behind them. Percy looked at the thing for a good minute. Alvin tapped his foot impatiently and nearly yelled at the older chipmunk, but he chose to stay silent when golden words began appearing on it.

It read: _Upon the earth, the chosen were spread._

_They explored, tamed, battled, and buried the dead._

_One will become great, and rise into the sky._

_But the condemned will fall, fail, and die._

When the last word appeared, Percy snapped his fingers and the poem shined brilliantly for a moment before settling down. "Anyone want to guess what this is?"

When no hands came up, Percy raised a questioning eyebrow at Jeanette. She looked away shyly and he settled into a disappointed grimace. "These are my instructions. One day, before I met the Chipettes, I came upon these words written in stone when looking for food in the forest. I was so intrigued that I touched the golden inscription and it disappeared. When I touched the stone again, the words seemed to drain from my fingers and into the stone where they appeared exactly as they were. I've since then moved the words into the foundation of the city where I can call up slabs just like these and make the words reappear." he explained. The confusion on their faces indicated further explanation was necessary.

"How do you know these are _your_ instructions? They don't even sound like instructions. Even if they were, how do you know that they weren't meant for someone else." Alvin shot back.

"They're mine because no one else can make them disappear or reappear like I can. You're most certainly welcome to try. I doubt you'll achieve much." Percy replied arrogantly. He gave an exaggerated wave of his hand and Alvin frowned. The red-clad chipmunk walked up to the slab and touched the golden letters boldly.

A full minute passed and nothing happened. Alvin sheepishly returned to his seat, turning the spotlight back on Percy. "As you can see, no one can do it. Trust me, hundreds have tried and all have failed to control those words. They're instructions and so far I've followed them to the letter."

"Really? How so?" Jeanette asked. When Percy turned his head to the girl she quickly looked away and another scowl graced his features.

"This city is obviously a testament to my achievements, but don't let the impressive construction and fancy look fool you. While this is my greatest feat, dozens more across the country and internationally have been created. All of them were designed by me and Sam along with other local teams. Altogether we hold a population of over two thousand. I don't know what it means by rising into the sky, but I kind of guessed that it was figuratively considering I can't fly and planes don't cause any effect."

The chipmunks all held looks of shock and awe on their faces when he mentioned the two thousand chipmunks. Even Simon roused a bit from his depression to give Percy a questioning look. Percy reveled in their awe, enjoying and savoring every second of it.

Brittany shook out of her state and stood from her chair. She closed the gap between them instantly and looked at him dead in the eye. "Why didn't you tell us this? There were others like us and you didn't let us meet them. Six years Percy. Six. And you couldn't even bother letting us know that we weren't alone?" She said with great restraint. There was no need for complete outrage at the moment.

"Well uh… you see…" _Fuck it._ "I guess I'm coming clean then. Take a seat." Brittany crossed her arms defiantly and he sighed. With a snap of his fingers, Brittany found her self pinned to her plush seat, unable to stand. Before she could begin the outrage, he snapped his fingers again and she found herself unable to speak.

"I didn't tell you because of my Talent. You see, we all name our Talents so that they are better recognized when another of similar Talent comes along. For example, Jeanette's Talent is called Maya(1). Her Talent is similar to Vex's who I'd planned on training Jeanette for a bit. That plan is down the drain _now_ though. Anyway, my Talent is two-fold. I combine near-omniscience with the ability to affect the bodies of myself and others. If it has to do with the mind, then its my specialty.

Theodore looked up confused at the power. "Omni-what?"

"Omniscience. Its supposed to be a quality only God has, the power to know everything, though I can come pretty close. To tell you now, no I don't know everything. I wish I did, cause that'd be so cool!" Brittany rolled her eyes at the giddy chipmunk. "See, I can tell when things happen in advance, but only randomly. One moment I can be completely in the dark, and the next I can tell what will happen months or years from now.

Skills that other people take years to learn can come naturally to me as if I had known what to do all along. Still, I'm in the dark about most things so don't try to use me to win the lottery or tell who will the next football game or something stupid like that. But to answer your question Brittany, the day I met the three of you I gained a sudden realization, a vision of sorts. It told me that bad things would happen to you three if you were to meet other chipmunks prematurely."

"How do we know if we have a uh… Talent." Alvin questioned the older chipmunk. He gave Alvin a grin and responded "Everyone does. To be Talented doesn't mean throwing around things with your mind… Or maybe it does. I'll have to think about that one…" Brittany gave another eye roll, prompting Percy to scratch his head sheepishly before continuing.

"Anyway, all it takes to be Talented is to be born. If you live and breathe in this world, your just as Talented as everyone else. Even Humans have Talents, but they aren't… ready, to use them. Not just yet."

Jeanette made to ask a question, but Percy shot her a look that said _Not just yet._ She slumped into her seat and Percy cleared his throat. "Each and every chipmunk can access their Talent, but first comes finding out what it is. Easy ways to draw out a Talent is through fear. Fear can be one hell of a motivator, as Jeanette can probably relate to you."

The bookish chipmunk frowned and shrank into her seat even more. Brittany took one look at her sister and tired to stand up and raise all hell on Percy but failed. Percy smirked at the still immobile chipette, milking his superiority for all it was worth. Brittany would surpass him one day.

He knew it already.

Simon was slowly building his rage at Percy. He didn't like the guy. Percy was arrogant. Simon thought the guy couldn't possibly stroke his ego any bigger but the chipmunk did so every time. Even Alvin wasn't as bad as him. And then there was his need to flash around his superiority, using his Talent to bully or dominate others.

Finally, Simon realized what he hated most. Percy's intelligence. As the smartest one amongst all his peers, Simon reveled in being needed. He made the plans, he set the standards, and he supported the group with his quick thinking and broad knowledge. With Percy around, no one needed him. Not even Jeanette.

"There are many ways to coax a Talent out of someone. Fear is just but one of them. First, you must find out who you aren't. What you most hate, what you most regret, what you most fear… all have to be accepted as a significant part of your life. Then you must choose become who you are. Every good, and bad, quality about yourself you have to recognize and accept as yet another very important part of your life. When both are put together, a persons Talent may be fully unleashed. However, doing this is not as simple as sitting around in a circle and sharing your feelings. Your Talent grows over the course of your life, reaching its pinnacle the moment before death."

"The moment before you die? Really?" Eleanor asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I've seen it plenty of times. By that time though you experience the Hangman's Fatigue, or the weight of your actions pressing down on you. Most of the old folk around here become teachers or doctors like my dad Dr. Williams."

"He's your dad?" Theodore asked. "He was sure nice to us when we were inside his clinic."

"Yeah… You know, I never met my dad until two years ago."

"Why not?" Theodore's mounting curiosity scared Percy. The little one's visage would turn from the Condemned and back every once while. It was terrifying but Percy kept his cool. He couldn't worry the others with his random visions. Not just yet…

"I was pretty smart ever since I was little. I could pretty much find food and avoid predators months after I was born and I grew just as fast as mind did, which is to say pretty fast. I could take care of myself. A few years ago though, I suddenly gained the knowledge about where my dad was at. He was being tortured by some human who wanted him to talk." Percy brutally suppressed any feelings he had about the memory. He couldn't worry the others with his personal problems.

And he was determined never to do so, _ever._

"My dad was near dead when I rescued him. I didn't leave without burning the human's house to the ground." He looked to Brittany who watched him with saddened eyes. Percy snapped his fingers and released the girl's bonds. She sighed in relief, giving Percy a silent thank you.

"I promised myself that I would never trust a human. None deserve their good fortune, none of them."

Alvin immediately glared at the older chipmunk though. "Dave's done good by us. He's given us everything, so don't talk as if you know all humans!"

"I know them more than you. In fact, I know a lot of things…" Percy looked to the corner where Simon sat alone. A sudden surge of knowledge came to him and he internally groaned. Did he really have to do _that? _This wasn't going to end well for him. "I know Simon over there is going to abandon you all. When the time comes, he'll save himself and leave the rest of you to die." Simon got up to his feet in an instant, unable to take another second of these accusations. He advanced on the smirking Percy with tightly gripped fists and a cool rage. His expression held mild distaste, but his next action showed a lot more than just a bit of dislike.

It all went down in a second. The blue-clad chipmunk punched Percy with all of his might, the slightly taller chipmunk dropping to the floor and gripping his eye in obvious pain.

"I've had enough of your smug arrogance. I would never abandon my friends and family, not even if it meant my own life was at stake. I don't care what powers you have, because You. Don't. Know. Me!" Simon exited the room, the others following him soon after. Soon enough, Percy was alone in the room.

**

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**

Percy grinned in realization. _So _that's _how it happened. Simon's got one hell of a left hook. Good times, good times…_

**

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**

1) Maya is supposed to be a fundamental understanding that mystics in Hinduism and Sikhism try to achieve. Its an understanding that the perspective one has is false and is an illusion resulting from an unenlightened mind. I chose it cause it sounded fitting. If you know anything about Hinduism/Sikhism and want to contend whatever I've written here, go ahead. I'd like to know more about the whole thing myself.

Either way the name was fitting so i chose it as the name for Jeanette's Talent.

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End Chapter 7

Well, that's a bit of filler for you. I'll leave the Talent poll up for a few more days as I add more filler. Then I'll give out the powers from the highest votes to lowest ones. After that, we have an entire arc to go through before half of this story is done. I'm planning, or trying at least, to get this to 100,000 words. 20,000 though is an achievement in and of itself for me.

TL;DR give a review, trying to get to 100,000 words, adding filler, leaving poll.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Well…

There is still a tie between two choices in my poll. Would anyone care to vote? I'd save me the trouble of choosing whoever the hell I want and it'd give you guys a measure of control. (like the natural sado-masochist control freaks you people are.)

No really, vote. You have two days people, get moving!

**

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**

Dim blue lights glowed all around a lone chipmunk. He stood on a stool, watching flashes of information streak across his vision then disappearing. A machine behind the chipmunk hummed slowly and softly, breaking the silence that permeated the room.

Tiny bright lights pooled out of the machine, gathering together to form an image. The image then rose, flying past the others and straight into sight. The figure cocked his head for a moment, taking in the information. With a curt nod the lights dispersed, erasing the image from existence.

"File 2015 dash RMP dash TS." the figure declared. For a moment, everything stood still. The tiny lights swirled in the air, converging into the image of a graveyard. The scene was one of an early summer morning. Two blue birds remained frozen in place, chasing one another across a field of calm green. White, crisp gravestones stood perfectly in place where at the end of a row a small welcome sign greeted visitors.

"So this is Redwood Memorial Park… Zoom in on sector D and play." The image flickered for a moment before shifting to another. This one was a video of a very small coffin being lowered into the ground. Crying noted the sorrow of those present, but the chipmunk couldn't see the people who were crying. Curiosity overcame him and he gave another command.

"Pause and shift down."

The image flickered and a red exclamation point popped in and out of existence. Anger flashed across the unfamiliar face as the image refused to move.

"Shift _down_!"

Again the red exclamation point appeared, refusing the figure's demands. The chipmunk grunted in frustration and looked at the image with a careful eye. He couldn't see the name on the tombstone, though a single "e" poked out from the top of the image. Below it the tombstone read "Savior, Brother, Friend". This was the key to the future? This was the climax of a five year long struggle?

"Doesn't seem to be _too _important. Who could possibly be so special that their funeral service became a file? I'm probably just thinking about this too hard."

He shrugged and called out for the next file.

**

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**

The sound of a power drill rang through the air. Sam jumped up in fright, sending the device in his hands sailing through the air.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The little machine crashed into the ground. Bits and pieces were sent flying. Sam was forced to duck as a screw came right for him. It collided against the stone wall and disappeared behind the shelf where the techie stood. His garage was a sanctuary, a sacred place for him and his machines of doom. Everyone knew not to enter it. Anyone who tried usually suffered at the hands of his many traps.

Sam couldn't believe his bad luck. "I was working on that thing for weeks!"

An arrogant voice called out from the garage door. "Your problem, not mine nerd."

The voice was coming from the far end of the garage, blocked from view by a pale blue counter. It jutted out from the wall for easier access to tools. But now it was an obstacle that blocked the chipmunk's view. _That voice… It can't be her. She wouldn't dare. _Soft giggles pierced the silence and anger flashed across the chipmunk's face. _Oh how I _hate_ that voice. Maybe if I-_

"Don't try it." Sam scratched his head. The voice was female, and only Percy could read minds. Whoever this chipmunk was, she was bluffing. There was no way she could possibly know his secret escape tunnel.

_Screw it, I don't take orders from nobody… except Percy. Sometimes… Whatever_! The tech-savvy chipmunk looked at his dirty, torn tie with fondness. This was his good luck charm. That evil witch couldn't stop him! He'd dash across the garage floor, zigzagging through the maze of disregarded tools and machines. Then he'd hurtle through the air and straight into his emergency exit hatch.

This plan could not fail!

Sam leapt from the counter. This felt glorious! Nothing could stop him now… _Is that the floor?_ His instant collision gave the answer. He lay still for a minute, paralyzed from the pain. "This hurts…"

"Wow kid that's some bad luck right there. Heh, wouldn't want to be you right now." Sam's eyes narrowed. He knew that vile, disgusting voice anywhere.

"Get the fuck out Hex!_" _Sam swore again as he felt the bruising swell. "This is my bread and butter. You've desecrated my bread and butter!" He added, pointing at the swelling on his forehead.

"Woah, relax kid. Settle down. I'm just passing a message on._"_

"The _fuck_ you are! Just get out before I-_"_

"Before you what? Get pissy and run to Percy like a big baby? As if I gave a damn. Now listen to the damn message._" _She smirked in triumph. He glared in defeat.

"Fine. What's the message."

The chipette resolved to savor this for a bit longer. It was a rare treat to experience the pain of others. _Especially _Sam's. It felt, magnificent and satisfying to say the least. "Look behind you. "

Sam looked upon the heap of junk that once was the maroon van he was forced to drive. The auto had seen better days, that was for sure. It was one thing to suddenly see a broken down van appear behind you. It was an entirely different thing to see a broken van appear behind you when the only entrance was much too small and the only exit was much too loud for it to have appeared without notice.

That thought terrified him.

"We need it in prime condition by tonight."

"Are you telling me that I have to _rebuild_ this piece of crap?"

"No, Percy is. Oh and I call doing the paintjob." Hex leapt from the shelf, dropping to Sam's side in a flourish. "Aww, don't look so down. At least you get to name it."

Sam perked up at that. He would come up with a name so stunning, so absolutely amazing and thrilling that it would be a name cautiously spoken for fear that he would drive it through the wall like that kool-aid man on the T.V.

"Oh yeah…" he whispered quietly. Hex showed no signs of hearing him. "Lets name it Sam's Vehicular Awesome Thing of Doom."

"No."

"How about The Greatest-"

"No."

The techie's shoulders slumped over. Hex stared blankly in return, her arms crossed. "I guess we'll call it-"

"No."

"But I didn't even-"

"No."

His glare met her expressionless face. "Ok, _Hex._ What do you want to name it?"

"The Queen Victoria." She responded simply. Sam jerked back in surprise, then glared in disgust.

"Oh _hellllll _no. We are not-"

"Yes we are."

"No. You said I cou-"

"No I didn't." Her face remained expressionless. The lie was obvious to both chipmunks. Hex found it hard to care. "We will name it The Queen Victoria, you will put the van back in pristine condition, and then you will drive the Chipmunks and the Chipettes home. Is that clear?" Her fearsome countenance told the techie turned mechanic that this was not up for discussion.

"Y-yeah. Fine."

"Now get to work. I've got an appointment with a _certain_ someone."

**

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**

Simon was angry. No that was an understatement. He was absolutely furious. How dare Percy call him a traitor and a coward? How dare he make all of those accusations and pass himself off as some omniscient god? The blue-clad chipmunk's quiet fury expressed an aura of oppressive hate. Simon could barely hear the pleading voices of his brothers asking him to wait up. He ignored it for now. They didn't need to see him like this.

In his anger he rushed out of the clinic and started off in a random direction. The clinic was at the center of the city, where many of the tree-shaped buildings' branches converged. "Easier to get help if someone's in trouble…" he mused. Then his thoughts returned to the source of his anger: Percy.

Simon couldn't help but seethe even more at the older chipmunk. It was because of him that Simon had lost control, twice! His words had been so… true. That caught the bespectacled chipmunk off guard. He thought Percy was right? Never… and yet…

Simon could do nothing but rage against Percy internally.

The raging chipmunk whirled around to face his brothers. They jumped in surprise and a bit in fear. Theodore could never remember seeing his older brother like this. Alvin remembered though. Three years ago. He still had the scars, inside and out.

"Bro… are you okay? Listen, Percy _was_ a bit of a jerk-"

"A BIT? No, he was a narcissistic, arrogant, lying, egotistical ass. I don't want to see his face ever again or so help me I'll…" Theodore's soft green eyes tore at Simon's anger. He had to be an example for his younger brother. The kind Alvin could never, and would never be. Yet here he was, flying off the handle.

"Si, calm down man. Look we're going home, okay? Percy told us to head down to the car." Alvin pleaded. Simon's resolve broke then.

"Alright… lets get out of this hell."

**

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**

**Several hours later…**

The Chipettes had spent at least an hour looking for their guide. The clinic was utterly empty, and when they returned to the chamber that Percy had talked to them in, he was gone. Brittany was a bit glad at that. What changed to make Percy so… wrong? He used to be nice, kind, gentle. He was their stalwart guardian and their faithful friend but now…

"We've looked everywhere Brittany. I doubt that whoever was supposed to take us home is still here." Jeanette called from the floor.

Eleanor gave a tired sigh from her plush, miniature chair. "Yeah Brit, this place is bare. I didn't even see the doctor anywhere."

Brittany was about to give a sarcastic retort when something hit her. "Wait. What's the one place we haven't looked."

The other two girls looked to one another, coming to a realization. "The patient's rooms!" The three called out.

"Alright girls, you go wait for Alvin to come back with his brother while I check on the patients."

**

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**

Hex reached out for her sister's hand, gripping it tightly. Her sister had become so light, so pale… Where was her cheerful enthusiasm, her brutish competitiveness, her-

"Excuse me miss?"

Deep obsidian eyes, wrought with pain met curious sky blue ones. The two were stuck firmly in place, neither able to break the silence. Brittany really didn't know what to say. Words escaped her, seeing another watch her sister suffer in silence. The Chipette prayed to never have to experience such pain.

After minutes had passed the Chipette finally spoke up. "Is Vex your sister?"

"Yeah… She is."

Brittany noted how similar the two looked. Almost twins really, except for the color of their fur. That made them distinct, different. The pink-clad chipette briefly entertained the idea of her and her sisters being triplets.

It was a horrifying thought.

In Hex's mind however, there was deep guilt and regret. If only she had switched places with her manipulative sister. Hex would have gladly given up her tail if it meant saving her sister from this trauma.. She was so smart and nice and… she deserved better than this.

"Well, I guess I better take you guys to the car now. Sam's had enough time to screw around." Hex squeezed her sisters hand one more time. "Be strong Vex. Come back to us whenever your ready…"

**

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**

Sam was flipping the fuck out.

Or rather, he was tearing his hair out in complete frustration. He'd gotten the damnable car up to speed but the thing didn't want to start. Hex was late by a few hours, giving him just enough time to buff out the scratches, switch out the battery, change the headlights, and every other damn problem the car had. But the engine was still shot to hell.

Then he had to spend time fixing the hydraulic lift so that the car could get out into the road. Needless to say that was a big waste of his time when all he had to do was refill the tanks with hydraulic fluid. Then his lucky tie was torn into two by the van's engine.

This entire job was sucking. _Hard._

"Cmon baby, let me hear you purr for daddy. I know you want to. Please? For me?" He whispered to the car affectionately. This was his last resort, his secret weapon. No machine could possibly resist his manly charm.

But this was apparently no ordinary machine. Sam pushed the key to the ignition but the battered vehicle still refused to start. "Will you start already you crappy excuse for a van! I don't have time for this, Hex will-'

"Will what?"

The six chipmunks plus Hex stood in the backseat, giving him a strange looks. Sam gave them a nervous smile. When did they get in? He didn't even hear the door open.

"Is there a _problem_ Sam?"

Sam's thoughts began racing at her icy stare._ Uh oh…, I can see that look in her eye. Oh no… not the whip! Anything but the damn whip! For the love of God start you piece of-_

The engine roared to life instantly and Sam shook with joy. That was not an experience he wanted to have again. When Hex didn't get her way, she made sure that everyone around her suffered because of it.

He still had the scars.

"Ladies and Gentlemen this is your captain speaking. We will be approaching the runway in just a minute so strap yourselves-"

"Just GO!"

Sam dropped to the comfortable driver's seat. His Talent wasn't easy to use, but it was the only way any of them could drive human vehicles. The techie felt the pull of the engine, the energy of the oil, the power of the battery. His normally black eyes glowed green and the hydraulic lift rose. The ceiling parted, revealing hundreds of stars shining brilliantly through the pitch black darkness around them.

They rose outside of the building above the garage, the motel's barely functional sign visible to all. The van's slow ascent finished on the other side of the motel, hidden from direct view.

"Alright guys, here we go!" The car sped off onto the road. The other chipmunks flailed about, scrambling to put on their seatbelts. Hex seemed to keep her balance anyway.

"Hey, isn't L.A. in the other direction?"

"Right."

**

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**

**Meanwhile…**

Ian Hawke burned with jealousy. The plush top level office, the hot secretary holding all of his calls, the _money_. All of it should've been his! He immediately hated this John Holstein guy. The man had taken him across this maze of a building, no doubt showing off. But the man had promised him vengeance on those dirty singing rats… That was enough to earn his tolerance, for now.

"Mr. Hawke, right this way." John opened a crystal glass door to a roomy conference room. "We have much to discuss."

Ian noticed the sparkling wall fountain and the comfortable leather seats. He sat on one, immediately feeling the relaxing effect. Even his chairs at Jett Records weren't _this_ comfortable. Whoever this guy worked for, they must have paid well.

"You said over the phone that you would help me with my Chipmunk problem, Mr. Holstein is it?"

"Please, call me John. And yes that was me over the phone. We at the Institute have a proposition to make. "

"What kind of proposition?" Ian asked cautiously. This much of a welcome for a guy living in a crappy one-bedroom apartment? Something was up. The balding man propped his legs up on the table and reclined his chair. Oh yeah, this was good…

"You see Mr. Hawke we share… similar goals. You want your old life back in your hands, correct? Well we can help you with that. Our crack legal team has discovered a clause in your contract that will serve us both well." John let the information sink in before continuing. "As it stands, the Chipettes owe you at least 50 million dollars in cash according to your contract. Alone, your chances of winning a legal battle with Jett Records and the Seville family is nil. With our resources however…

Anything is possible."

Ian reserved his joy. His money, his fame, his status, all returning to him. But there was one thing that Ian couldn't wrap his head around. "What do you get out of this?"

John leaned back into his chair. What would he get out of this? He didn't know why the Institute was doing this. If anything, they should've spent the money on his next few engagements. But John wouldn't question those in charge, just yet. "I'm just a face, a liaison if you will. My superiors would rather not be seen by face or given any attention because of our actions. As for what they want… I really don't know. All you need to do is meet with our legal team where they'll brief you, then show up in court. Simple right?"

Ian truly didn't buy it. This was all too good to be true. Ian would eventually realize that this offer _was_ in fact, too good to be true far too late to stop the Institute. And he would pay in blood for his naivety and greed.

"Are you ready to change your life around Mr. Hawke?"

Ian grinned evilly. Oh yes, he was quite ready. "Sign me up John."

**

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End Chapter 8

Finally finished this chapter. Special thanks to Victory's Raconteur for your awesome review.

Head over to my poll my faithful readers, and vote. Despite what you see here, the character(s) who get the most votes will be receiving powers. In fact, every chipmunk will get them. _Which_ power they get and how powerful it is will be dependant on the reviews I get. Suggest some if you'd like. Depending on how interesting and not mainstream it is it may get into the story and you will be given credit for the idea.

In addition, when the first act of this story is completed which should be when the Chipmunks and the Chipettes all discover their powers, I'll be doing a complete revision of this story in it's entirety. You guys may want to watch out for that. Then ill take a week or so to give myself new ideas and refresh the mind.

Believe it or not a ton of my story is done on the spot as I write. If the plot or the grammer seems choppy, its because I stuck ideas and characters in at random. Thanks to all who reviewed this story, most notably Amon23. His faithful reviewing of this story helped keep it alive, especially when I sort of lost interest around chapter 4. Thanks buddy.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Wow… long time no see guys hehe. Real life problems such as summer homework (and a lot of it!), angry mothers, stupid brothers, and various mishaps kept me from this chapter. But finally, around 3 in the morning EST I finally got this done.

Be glad friends and enjoy a taste of awesomeness.

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**

Percy subconsciously rubbed the area where his black eye once was. After the chipmunks had left he'd just focused his Talent to erase all traces of the black eye. Then he'd headed up to his personal quarters above the city. Essentially a pseudo penthouse, it was easily the fanciest and best looking place in the city. Everything was carefully miniaturized with each detail perfectly placed. He even had dozens of miniature video monitors and computers he tasked Sam with building at least a year ago. His own house was practically an advanced command and control center from where he could oversee the city and communicate with dozens of other small communities he'd built over the years. From Atlanta to Seattle, from his home here just outside of L.A. to New York City, hundreds of other chipmunks went about their lives in secrecy.

Few humans had discovered them. Those that did were contacts and informants, people Percy tolerated because they were of use to him.

Turning from these thoughts, he gave a bored glance at a monitor to the right. This one was of the garage a bit farther underground. The hydraulic lift was busy lifting the hastily repaired van up to ground level. _Well I'm glad we finally got some use out of that stupid hydraulic piece of crap. Damn Sam and his useless gadgets. _The chipmunk raged half-heartedly. Sam could get favors out of anyone. He often joked that Sam had discovered another one of his Talents. Percy often regretted the ego boost it gave Sam afterwards.

Soon enough the van was out of sight and Percy turned to another monitor. This one was… strange. His dad was leaning over a still unconscious Usiah.

**

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**

Dr. Williams rushed into Usiah's room, having heard his patient cry for him from the next room. Vex was still unresponsive but Usiah apparently was. For the moment everything seemed normal, unchanged. Usiah was lying barely alive on the bed, the monitors showing the erratic behavior his body was in. Suddenly however, all of the numbers starting going up.

"Damnit! His blood pressure's skyrocketing and so is his heart rate. This is not good. Pupils dilating… what the hell is going on!" The doctor gave a frustrated grunt and moved to a nearby cabinet, instinct and years of experience pulling out exactly what he needed before he could even think about it.

He filled a single needle with a thick, metallic liquid. With the speed and skill of a truly great doctor he managed to restrain his now shaking patient and inject the needle into his arm. Usiah visibly relaxed and his vitals returned to normal. The unconscious chipmunk gave a few violent twitches in rapid succession. Then, his eyes opened.

"W-where am I? I can't see. WHERE AM I!" the confused chipmunk flailed around in panic. Dr. Williams reacted quickly and comforted his patient while restraining him from ripping out the IVs or knocking over the monitors. "Shh… its okay boy. You're here, in the clinic."

"Doc? Is it r-really you?"

"Yeah son, I'm here. Relax…" Dr. Williams tore a strip of gauze from a bundle nearby and pressed it lightly around his patient's needle wound. "We lost you, then found you again, and lost you for _days_. Do… you remember anything?"

Usiah weakly reached out for the doctor. His body was deteriorating at a rate the good doctor could barely keep up with. Dr. Williams pumped an array of chemicals into his truly dying patient with his needle, attempting to slow or stop the organs from shutting down. "Doc, its like I can barely hear you. I-I'm scared. Why can't I see anything."

His vitals were dropping, fast. "Hang on son, don't give up on me now." Nothing was working. The doctor refused to admit defeat. "Stay strong Usiah. You need to stay strong!"

"Doc. What's it like. Dying and all. I've never… died before." Usiah swallowed thickly. Fear was tearing him apart on the inside while his already fragile organs failed him. Already he could feel a weight pressing on him, driving him into the bed. His strength was leaving, his heartbeat slowing. Was death as painful as this? Would he simply stop existing? Would it be like a dream?

"Don't say that! Just keep your eyes on me, okay?" The younger chipmunk could barely hear the doctor. Darkness still consumed his vision, and his body slowly numbed itself to the world.

"Doc, just tell everyone… that I wished I was braver when I died."

"Your not going to-"

"Please?" Usiah felt so weak… so tired…

"I, uh… okay. Bless you son. Enjoy the afterlife."

But the chipmunk was already dead.

**

* * *

**

Percy shook his head at the events unfolding before his very eyes. He already knew that Usiah was to die this day. He'd seen it months before. Fate was fate, however.

Changing it solved nothing. He'd tried.

_I know what happens when I try to defy fate, when anyone tries to defy fate. Their defiance is their very downfall. We all pay the price in blood, Usiah was no exception._ He tried to console himself. Percy couldn't help but feel responsible. Nothing made it easy. Not the tenth time it happened. Not the hundredth time it happened. Not this time.

_No… not this time._

But there was good news too. His chess game was heading for a stalemate. His hidden opponent had defeated him in every match they ever had. This time was different though. This game determined the fate of his entire people, of the glorious civilization yet to rise. Percy knew that if he lost then all of his efforts would fall. He himself would fall at the feet of those whose rage he'd incited.

This couldn't happen. It wouldn't happen. _It shouldn't happen…_ The chipmunk thought nervously.

Percy's thoughts were interrupted when a _certain _someone came barging into the room. The chipmunk wore a blue denim vest and a prominent mhawk stood on his head. His eyes turned wide with surprise upon seeing the older chipmunk brooding near the monitors.

"Percy? Dude, is that you? Long time no see man! These are some sweet gigs. Mind if I-"

"Rick, get the fuck out." The omniscient chipmunk interrupted._ Does that prick not know when he's not wanted?_

"Cmon man! I come all the way over here from Detroit and this is how you treat me? What happened to _us_ man?"

Percy pinched the bridge of his nose in anger and frustration. He had no time to deal with this today. "What the… Rick when I first saw you the first thing I told you to do was to go kill yourself. Does that register at all to you? I don't like you. Now would you kindly get the fuck out and leave me in peace?"

"Dude, you have to find where your soul is and just be there man. Go with the wind, find your flow, keep that rhythm man. Just go where your heart is. I found my heart here, chilling with a friend that doesn't seem to have any manners." Rick dragged several makeshift luggages into the penthouse. They were coated in dirt and grime, rubbing it off everywhere because of their owner's carelessness.

"Now lets catch up! Hey, is that chess? I play a mean game man. Let me at that." Rick bolted for the chess set currently in play. Percy's eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. The vest wearing chipmunk felt his legs turn to jelly. With great surprise etched on his face, Rick collapsed just short of the chess set.

"Don't touch that! I'm in a very important game."

Confusion flashed across Rick's face "With who? I don't see anyone 'round here besides me and you."

"My opponent seems to be able to remotely play his pieces. I haven't discovered how or why, but our games have taken on a role of increasing importance. Anyway, if you stop being an ass, I'll show you what's going on now."

With a nod, a snap, and a sigh of relief, Percy began explaining his current game. "The pieces that aren't pawns generally represent someone of importance around me." He pointed at the rook to the far right of the board hiding behind its pawn. "That one is Sam. You know, the nerdy one."

"Right, the dude who built me that miniature motorcycle and helped me jump-"

"Shut up. Now the next piece-" he gestured to the knight harassing a group of pawns and a bishop. . "-is Hex."

Confused, the blue-clad chipmunk asked "How do you know who is what piece?"

"Ah, that's just the thing. I don't find out until the piece becomes of importance. Though I do have a few guesses, and I'm usually not wrong. Generally the pieces are assigned to people according to their traits. Hex is a very aggressive, hands-on, and dominating type of person. Thus, she is naturally suited to the knight role. The rook is Sam because he prefers to shy away from problems until he has sufficient information to act with. Sam rarely does things on a whim. Because the rook is often not playable until late in the game, and must be carefully set up, he is naturally suited to the rook."

Rick nodded with understanding as his so called "friend" explained everything to him. "What happens when a piece gets taken?"

A grim expression flashed momentarily across Percy's visage. He turned away from the other chipmunk and looked to the other pieces already taken. He had five pawns but his opponent had taken one of his bishops. _Usiah…_

"Bad things happen Rick. Bad things…" The older chipmunk turned to face his companion with a dark look.

"Wait, do you really believe in this crap?" Rick asked rather unconvinced. To him, there was no way that a stupid chess game could do any creepy psycho mumbo jumbo. Not at all.

"No, not really. I was just calming you down so I could properly kick you out of my penthouse." With a snap, the filthy luggage was raised in the air along with their owner. Rick flailed about in a futile manner in an attempt to resist. He grabbed at anything and everything in sight but the force put forth by Percy's Talent proved to be too much. For all his effort, the rude chipmunk was tossed out the window and fell from the insane height along with all his things. _It's a shame he wont die with his Talent and all…_

Percy sighed and gave one last passing glance to his chess game. This game would not determine the future, but rather remind him of what already happened. He snapped his fingers and his other bishop moved into a fianchetto(1) by itself. He had to stall for time, to slow his opponent until the proper counter could be made.

He just needed a bit more time…

**

* * *

**

"Oh crap! Brace yourselves!" The Queen Victoria sped across the suburbs in a flash of unnecessary noise. With an exaggerated swing of his hands, Sam turned the vehicle to avoid an incautious squirrel that ran into the street chasing a nut. Rather surprisingly Sam had also managed to avoid stray cats, hydrants, and even a kindly old lady crossing the street to her grandson's house.

"I think I'm gonna barf." Alvin groaned out. He was turning a bit green around the edges. His brothers ran for cover, hoping to avoid the disgusting and vicious assault to come. "Ugh…"

Hex was bored out of her mind, despite the lurching of the car to and fro. Sam struggled to keep the vehicle on the road despite all his skill. His dozen close calls or so had already proven that. Sam momentarily entertained the idea of Hex using her Talent to screw up his driving, but such a thought almost proved too distracting when a light green home came into view. With a stomp of his foot, the brake was pressed down by an invisible force. The van slid slowly across the manicured lawn. Sam couldn't believe that only the front bumper was barely touching the front door of the house. It wasn't just anyone's house though. It was Claire's house.

"And _that_, ladies and gentlemen, is how one doesn't crash into a house." Sam declared smugly to his passengers. The Chipettes had all but passed out from the shock. Brittany had tried to keep a tough façade but failed. The boys were bruised and battered, but okay for the most part. Hex was standing perfectly next to the driver seat's headrest. The oppressive chipette held a bit of distaste in her voice as she fired back against the techie.

"Shut it, Sam. That was only once."

"Wait, you've demolished a house with a car before?" Simon asked from his spot behind cover. The only cover available, however, was the unconscious bodies of the Chipettes.

"Yeah. I crashed this van into your house, like a while ago." She responded simply. Everyone present minus Sam stared at her open mouthed.

The door to the house opened, revealing a terrified Claire jumping back in surprise. The boys woke the Chipettes (Or rather, Alvin threatened to give Brittany a kiss while she was unconscious and she awoke to beat Alvin to a pulp when he approached her.) and rushed out the van with relief and happiness in their eyes. The Chipettes

"Claire!" The six called out. She found them climbing out of the windows and onto the windshield. Alvin leapt as soon as he could to give the woman a hug. She put all of them into a loving embrace, kissing their foreheads with tenderness and care. Her excitement was obvious by the way she spoke beyond understanding. Finally, Claire brought the six into the house to a sulking Dave. He was in front of a T.V. lifelessly staring at the screen.

Alvin's smug voice called out from behind him "Heya Dave, did you record that documentary about me like I asked?"

"Not now Alvin. I'm too depressed about… Alvin?" He turned slowly to see all six of the chipmunks in Claire's arms. Dave turned back to the T.V. and rubbed the exhaustion out of them. It couldn't be… could it? He slowly returned to see the six chipmunks now staring at him expectantly.

"Dave? Are ya losing your eyesight in your old age?"

"I can't believe it. Your really back, all of you! Thank God!" He rushed to the chipmunks and embraced them carefully, trying to avoid squeezing them to death. "I thought I'd never see you guys again. Don't leave me like that ever again. You don't know what I went through just-"

"Yeah, yeah Dave. Its great to see you too. Now where are those welcome back pancakes?" Alvin interrupted, scanning the room for food. As if on cue, all their bellies groaned in hunger.

"Alvin, its at least midnight. You can't possibly-"

"No no, its alright Simon. You guys deserve it after all you went through… after you explain why there's a van blocking my front door." Claire returned. Everyone looked at the van sitting in the front door immobile. For at least a minute, nothing happened. Then the sound of a whip cracked and the vehicle reversed violently, kicking dirt up everywhere. It soon sped off into the night.

"… What van?" Alvin asked sheepishly. The deadpan looks around the room told him exactly how funny his joke was.

**

* * *

**

End Chapter 9

Too late… too tired… must sleep.

Must do summer homework. Jesus I can't wait until I get the first act done. I can finally catch up on that stuff and get it done! This was the last real filler.

Usiah's death is extremely important. I also wanted to get that little chess piece in because it serves as an explanation for a lot in the story. No the chess game doesn't predict what happens or who dies. Seriously, that's just unoriginal. Though it does reveal the reason as to why some characters get nicknames based on chess pieces. Alvin is the knight, guess who's the bishop/rook.

Also, I needed the Chipmunks/Chipettes to return to Dave. It's key for the next chapter.

**BIG NEWS** Poll is done! The first character(s) to head up to the plate is (are)…. Eleanor and Theodore.

Thanks to all who voted. Your efforts decided this. Now +2 internetz to whoever can guess what power Theodore has. I gave a hint in a previous chapter. A real easy one.

(1) A fianchetto is a move that takes advantage of the bishop's movement to protect the center from enemy pieces while also leveraging a point of attack against major enemy pieces. This bareback one is just for the curious. If you want a better one, look it up.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Wow… sorry for being late with these chapters. This summer homework is really killing me. This chapter features Talent receiving awesomeness. Prepare to be assaulted by a verbal tsunami. Its going to be… cool I suppose.

**

* * *

**

A figure bathed in light looked upon a might throne, high in the sky. "Nice chair, weird location. Who'd ever wanna live here?" the figure asked to no one in particular. Light flowed around him like water. It was clear enough to see through but it held him, consumed him. Moving was extremely difficult here.

That led him to another thought. _Where is here exactly? I haven't seen anyone around… _

_Why can't I remember anything? _Images flowed through currents in the light. They were always distorted and hard to see. People, places, things he'd never seen or heard before flashed across his vision before being discarded wherever the current ended.

_This place is weird. I haven't seen anyone or anything besides that stupid throne over there. I wonder…_ The figure approached the throne carefully, tentatively. There was no one around. At least, there was no one close enough to hear him call for help.

His limbs suddenly became tired and weak. _Why am I so damn tired? What's happening to me?_ The throne looked inviting. It enticed him with its plush seat, its soft fabric, and its perfect height. It was truly a seat for the ages. _Maybe for just a few minutes. Nobody'll mind… right?_

The golden figure hesitated for a moment, considering the throne, before sitting. It was soft, that much was true. Sleep took hold of him in moments. Unconscious, he erupted in a blizzard of light. The display drowned everything in a shower of pure brilliance.

The figure awakened moments later, taking in his new environment. Two female chipmunks crowded him on a short green bed. "Eleanor, are you alright?"

**

* * *

**

**Earlier that day…**

"If I had just pushed Simon a bit further…"

Percy shook his head in disappointment. He'd almost had Simon's Talent. He'd failed, but all was not lost. He was fated to fail. A confusing development, but his precognition never failed him.

Never.

"Relax, Percy. You'll have your chance. This isn't over. Not by a long shot." Percy watched as the chipette calmly strolled into his penthouse. She jumped onto his plush couch, relaxing in his normal spot. Percy noted her lack of sarcasm or threats of physical violence in her entrance. Odd…

"Something troubling you Hex?"

She shot the older chipmunk a look. _Her eyes say no, but her body says yes._ He mused. "You're never this jumpy. What's eating at you? Is it your sister?"

Hex looked away. Truth be told, the chipette did have something on her mind. But she'd let the other chipmunk play her game for a while. She would have him eating out of her hands until he begged for her to come clean. But for now…

"Take a guess hotshot. We've got time to burn."

Percy crossed his arms. She was playing the game again. Hex only did that when she had something particularly important to tell. He'd play the game, for now.

"Its Sam! I knew it. You have a crush on my first mate, right?"

The chipette was not amused. "Nope. Try again."

"Its that time of the month?"

She tensed up, anger tearing at her resolve to not tear the older chipmunk apart on the spot. This was part of the game. His efforts at cutting it short would not work…this time at least. Gritting her teeth the chipette replied. "No."

"Okay… then its…" Percy looked around the room. There _had _to be… was that his bishop in the air? The chipmunk blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't day dreaming. Yeah, that was his chess piece alright. That meant…

"Its Theodore."

Hex looked back at Percy with shock barely concealed. He _never_ finished the game that quickly. Usually there were more jabs taken at her gender.

"'How'd you figure it out so fast?"

Percy crossed his arms again. He'd caught her off guard, that was for sure. Though chess pieces randomly floating in the air was probably something to be worried about… Nah, he was thinking about it too hard.

Hex sighed. "I… saw something when we came back after dropping off the little ones. The green one, Theodore… His body changed for a moment. It was only momentary, but I _knew_ it had to be an omen. The kid has a lot in store for him."

"So you saw it too?"

"Yeah. It caught me off guard to say the least. Do you… think its time?"

Percy took a deep breath. That was a hard one. His contacts were going down one by one. His settlements were cutting off contact. His people were disappearing right before his eyes.

Yeah, it was probably time. "Start the preparations. We won't be caught off guard if it is."

"Sure. Oh and Sam told me he'll be at the clinic." Hex gave a curt nod to her leader before heading off the elevator.

"Wait! Why?"

The chipette turned slowly, playful smirk forming on her face. "He was mumbling something about whip crazy sadists."

**

* * *

**

Theodore yawned sleepily. The room was still shrouded in near total darkness, a sign that he was still supposed to be asleep. The tiny chipmunk looked at the large digital watch near the bed. _Three thirty? Its still pretty late. _Theodore felt his stomach groan loudly in hunger. The chipmunk resolved never to listen to Alvin ever again.

_I _knew_ I should've had that fourth pancake. Maybe there's some snacks lying around…_ Theo shook Alvin to his right. "Alvin? You wanna help me get a snack?" the youngest chipmunk whispered. His older brother gave a loud snort in his sleep.

Theo turned to his other brother Simon. His other older brother always had that serious face when he was sleeping…

"Hey Si? Wanna-"

"No Theo. Go back to sleep." The green-clad chipmunk jumped in surprise, nearly waking Alvin. Theodore never knew how Simon could tell when he wanted food in the middle of the night. Maybe he had psychic stuff like those guys on the T.V. or like Percy.

Theodore chose to ignore the mention of Percy in his thoughts. He had enough nightmares to deal with without having a real life one. Theodore readied himself to leap off the bed, but his muscles tightened painfully at the effort. His tiny frame shook violently in a bout of muscles spasms. The young chipmunk tried to yell in pain but nothing came out. His voice was gone or at least not working. A dark shroud overcame the chipmunk, sending him to blissful unconsciousness.

**

* * *

**

Eleanor groaned as a flash of light awoke her. The chipette stood up groggily, letting out a sleepy yawn. She opened her eyes… only to realize her eyes were already open. "Hey Brittany, can you turn off that light?"

"Mmm? Ellie there's nothing on."

Eleanor snorted and looked around the room. She couldn't see anything except this bright, all encompassing light. Gold shone from every corner of her vision, blinding her. Strangely, it didn't hurt her eyes.

"Jeany, can you turn that light off? Brittany's being a lazy-"

"Eleanor, the lights are off! I told you already." Brittany shot back, now rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Jeanette rose slowly, glancing about the room. "Ellie, Brittany is right. Its nearly pitch black here. Are you… alright?"

Eleanor's fur steadily turned golden, her soft features becoming softer and smoother. The youngest chipette felt her eyes roll into the back of her head as everything became brighter and brighter. Darkness encroached on the edges of her vision before she collapsed onto the bed.

"Eleanor!"

"Jeanette, go turn on the light! Wait, nevermind. She's… glowing."

**

* * *

**

A glowing silver cage surrounded the youngest Chipmunk. Innocent eyes pierced deep into the dark shadows surrounding the cage. Black tendrils latched onto the cage, occasionally shaking it to and fro. Theodore felt a bit of fear enter him as the obvious sunk in.

He was all alone.

"A-Alvin? Simon? You g-guys there?" His meek voice echoed, each repetition increasing in volume and intensity. The tiny chipmunk grabbed onto his ears painfully, resolving not to speak until he figured a way out of this cage. The bars looked and felt solid. Theodore could tell he wouldn't be fitting through the tiny spaces between the bars. There was also no visible entrance as far as he could tell.

_This is too weird… I hope Simon and Alvin come looking for me soon._

"I fear not, little one."

The voice boomed with purpose. Theodore swiveled around, hoping to find the origin of the voice. Nothing but darkness greeted him. Theodore meekly whispered "Are you… a friend? Please, get me out of here."

"I cannot let you leave, not without paying the price." The voiced replied. Theodore hanged his head in sorrow, knowing that he had nothing but the clothes on his back.

"The price I seek is not in money… but in blood, child."

"B-blood?"

"Yes, blood. All you must do is pass a… test. Succeed, and you shall have your freedom."

Theodore stood joyously. A test? He'd seen Simon take plenty of those in minutes. They couldn't possibly be _that_ hard, could they?

"Know this child. Should you fail, your life is forfeit. You will never see your family or your friends again. Darkness shall be all that you become, all that you will ever be. It will consume your very soul and leave you with nothing.

Are you willing to make such a sacrifice, boy?"

**

* * *

**

Eleanor awoke to the singing of angels. Seraphim spun around her, chanting and singing and flying. An orchestra of glorious beings surrounding her. A symphony of unspeakable beauty. Golden light shined down from the skies above her, converging around her and bathing the area in brilliance. Perfect white flowers thrived in the light. Their fragile petals occasionally flying into the breeze and joining the angels in their holy aerial dance.

It was all too unreal.

A single angel broke off from the group, soaring through the golden heavens that surrounded them. The angel floated down, shaming Eleanor. She felt so… dirty compared to these pure beings around her.

Then it hit her. _Angels? Am I dead?_

"No my dear, you are not dead."

The green-clad chipette gasped. "You can read my thoughts?"

"I can, but I didn't. I simply answered the obvious question on your mind. It is not an uncommon, nor an unexpected question."

"B-but where am I? Is this heaven?" Eleanor asked, confused about the whole situation. While she did enjoy the dancing and singing, her sisters were probably worried about her. That and the whole situation was weird. She had gone from seeing a bright light when there was none to ending up in this beautiful field with hundreds of angels in a symphony orchestra.,

"No my child, this is not heaven. It is the path to heaven. This is the end of the road for many, where a choice must be made."

"A choice? What are you talking about?"

The angel plucked a pure white feather from his left wing. The seraph gave the feather to the young chipette. She looked up at him confused. He gave a knowing a smile in return.

"There is the last stop on the road to Heaven, Eleanor. If you so choose, take my hand and I will take you to an eternity of bliss and happiness. You will leave everything behind, everyone you love and cherish, your family and friends. Or," with a wave of his hand dozens of petals rose from their grassy beds and into the air. "You many follow these petals to your friend Theodore. He dying Eleanor, and he needs your help. Should you take my hand, you will resign him to a death unimaginable."

Eleanor gasped in horror. Theo was dying? "Where is Teddy? What's happening to him?"

"Choose now Eleanor, time is of the essence." The golden lights shimmered as the seraphim began to rise, returning to their celestial home. "But you're an _angel_. You can save Teddy!"

"I cannot do that, even though I would like to very much. Only the love you hold for him can save him."

The decision was easy. "Sorry Mr. Angel. I've got to save Theo!"

The angel gave a soft smile to the young girl before him. His wings flapped powerfully, gusts of wind blowing more petals into the air. The seraph rose into the golden beyond, looking at the green-clad chipette the entire way. "I would have wanted it no other way my child. Go. A familiar face will guide you to his location… and you may call me Jeremiah." The angel's voice was like a whisper now, barely audible to the tiny chipette. The heavenly light dimmed rapidly with the seraphim's' departure. The once vast, beautiful field filled with fragile white flowers was now dying and decaying. The warmth that came from the celestial light disappeared with the seraphim.

Soon, Eleanor was all alone.

**

* * *

**

"I… want to see my brothers again. To see my friends again. I'll do anything, just please get me out of this nightmare!" Theodore called out to the darkness. The black mass surrounding his cage stopped moving altogether. Silence consumed all thought. Theo stared into the dark fog, watching as something coiled within.

Black tendrils broke through the still mass of darkness. They latched onto the cage bars and pulled. Strangely, the cage itself wasn't being pulled but rather something within the fog was. Solid yellow eyes opened slowly, instilling pure fear into Theodore's heart. The tendrils took on an oily form as what could only be described as tar poured into the cage. The tar strangely didn't sink through the cage bars. It pooled together, clawed limbs tearing out of the pool of tar. Yellow fangs slowly formed, following a grim visage. It was a wolf, staring down the tiny chipmunk with glowing yellow eyes.

"So little one, are you ready to pay with your pound of flesh?"

**

* * *

**

"Why'd he get so still all of a sudden Simon? He's not moving."

Simon checked his younger brother's pulse. _Cmon Theodore. Give me _something_ for God's sakes. I know your alive. You have to be._ Nothing.

"Simon! He is alright… right? Tell me he's alright!" Alvin cried in fear. His younger brother was just getting up in the middle of the night as usual when he just started freaking out. Now Theo was lying there, cold, and Alvin didn't know what he could do. Simon felt nearly as helpless. The bespectacled chipmunk berated himself for not getting up and helping his younger brother when he needed it.

_I'm so sorry Theodore. I'm sorry brother. Please just… is that a pulse?_ Sure enough a weak pulse could be felt. His brother would live, if they could get him to a hospital.

"I have a pulse but we need to take him to a hospital. Go wake up Dave and Claire. I'll dial 911." Simon ordered. Alvin moved quickly and without question. There was no time for sibling rivalry right now.

The two turned to see a ghastly figure greeting them with a smile. "Hey you two, I'm afraid I can't let you wake up anybody."

"Is that… Vex?" Alvin could barely make out the details of her face with all the distortion, but it was definitely her.

"Vex? Isn't she supposed to be lying in a hospital bed miles away from L.A.?" Simon asked incredulously. There was no way a _living_ girl could suddenly appear as a ghost in front of them in the middle of the night. Unless, of course, there was a sudden complication. That still didn't explain the ghost thing. Ghosts weren't real, television shows and movies be damned.

"Yeah, I'd explain it but I prefer letting you figure it out by yourselves. Now I still can't let you near the phone." The ghastly Vex declared. The two brothers gave each other a look and split off in different directions. The specter simply shook her head before giving chase. They would not ruin her plan. Not today.

**

* * *

**

"Is this the full extent of your power? I'm afraid your death is assured at this rate." The wolf taunted as it swiped at the smaller animal before him. Theodore tried to move but was too slow. The chipmunk was thrown across the cage and against the other wall.

"Your brother's are not here to save you child. And it seems you'll never see them again if this pitiful display is all you have to show me." Theodore scrambled to the other side of the cage as the wolf approached. Gleaming yellow eyes hinted with amusement gazed down upon fear filled green ones. Too easy.

"Y-your wrong! My brothers will come, they'll save me!" The chipmunk's resolve grew steadily. His brother's had saved him before. Why would this time be any different.

The wolf simply circled his weaker prey arrogantly. Theodore stayed as far as the cage would allow, pushing his tiny frame against the solid silver bars. "You must be mistaken to assume I will let you live that long, _fool_. There is no way in, or out. Now fight me! Show me your power, and perhaps you will live yet." The wolf bared his dirty yellow teeth at his prey. Theodore felt fear crawl into his heart again. He didn't know how to fight!

Theodore threw himself to the side as razor sharp teeth snapped where he once was. The wolf swiped with its claws, catching the smaller animal squarely. Theodore crashed into the bars. The sickening snap of bones breaking became music to the wolf's ears. The predator gave a soft chuckle, watching the chipmunk sink to the floor. Blood began dripping from long slashes on Theodore's back.

"How… anticlimactic. You are a disappointment to say the least. I shouldn't have expected much from a fat rodent, but a wolf can dream." The larger predator came up to the still chipmunk. Nudging the chipmunk with his snout earned the wolf a world of hurt. The predator gave a pained yelp and retreated from the chipmunk. Blood oozed from his snout, three visible scratches having torn open the wolf's nose. Theodore was now rising from the floor. More snapping could be heard, but this wasn't from bones breaking. Rather, the chipmunk's bones were snapping back into place.

"Ah… then there _is_ more than meets the eye. Round 2 little one. Prepare yourself!" With that the creature lunged.

**

* * *

**

Eleanor looked at the bleak, dreary world around her. Life was stagnant, that much was certain. She turned around to find a dirt path ahead of her. A familiar face watched her with a smirk.

"Vex? Aren't you supposed to be in a hospital bed miles away from here?"

The older chipette said nothing. With a twirl of her yellow dress, she set off down the road. Eleanor could only help but to stare. The angel _did_ say that a familiar face would show her the path. "Hey Vex, wait up!"

**

* * *

**

Alvin felt himself be thrown into the bedroom closet. _Vex's ghost is a monster… How are we supposed to get past that chick?_

He heard Simon's cry of "Not again!". His glasses were tossed under the bed, _again_. The younger chipmunk was useless without his glasses, or at least he couldn't see properly.

"I got ya Simon!" Alvin declared. He started off to the bed. The red-clad chipmunk felt as light as a feather. Unfortunately he wasn't touching the floor. "Aww man! Can I get a break here?" He whined. The ghost nodded and set him down on the floor.

Alvin ran to the bed on all fours. He was promptly thrown back into the closet again. "Cmon lady! This isn't funny! Our brother is dying and-"

"Your brother isn't dying Alvin. He's… indisposed. You'll thank me for this." Vex stated. Simon shrugged and turned to get his glasses from under the bed, assuming he could see well enough in the darkness with his vision to get them.

Alvin was shocked. "Your just gonna give up Simon? Our brother-"

"Isn't dying. Think about it Alvin, why would the ghost of someone we know suddenly appear and stop us from helping him. Whatever's going on is much bigger than us. Let's wait a bit. If he gets worse, we'll wake Dave and Claire."

"Yeah but she just kicked our asses. She's a _girl_ Simon. Your going to take this beating from a girl?" Alvin taunted. Oh yeah, he definitely had Simon now!

"Alvin… you would know."

The older chipmunk could only glare in response. He had no witty reply, no dazzling comeback.

"Damn… Alvin, how'd it feel getting burned like that?" Vex asked with a goofy grin. She leaned in expectantly, the only immediate reply being a nasty glare.

**

* * *

**

"So Vex… How'd you get all the way over here?"

The older chipette shrugged. "Dunno. After the doc told me about my tail I was pretty much a vegetable. I couldn't hear, couldn't see. The only thing going through my head was the loss of my tail."

Eleanor noted the other chipette's lack of a tail. She repressed a shudder, hoping that a fate would never come upon her.

"Then I was suddenly out of my own body. At first I thought I was dead, but in reality my body was just in a coma… sort of. Anyway I ended up following you little troublemakers all the way home. When you went to sleep, I sorta… got sucked it. I flew into your body. Not a pleasant experience to say the least…"

"So… this is all a dream?"

Vex gave her a sad smile. "You'll wish it was a dream soon enough kid." She stopped abruptly, catching the smaller chipette off guard.

"What happened?"

Vex looked up at the rusty iron gate. A graveyard had popped into existence to their right, seemingly out of nowhere. "We're here kid."

"But the angel said-"

"He's not dead, yet. Though he is in trouble. Theodore should be somewhere inside. Find and rescue him, or the result could be…" The woman cut off then, leaving an unspoken warning to the younger girl.

"Are you sure its in a graveyard? I mean, it could be-"

"Eleanor, I know your scared. I completely understand. But if you don't go in there and rescue him, he'll die."

Eleanor clutched the angel feather close to her chest. Her rhythmic heart beat began to go faster and more erratic. Fear gripped her momentarily.

"Well, good luck kid. You'll need it." Vex disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the scared girl to her task.

"Oh joy…"

**

* * *

**

Theodore crashed into the wolf's side, ripping and tearing at muscle and fur with elongated claws. The larger predator roared in anger, scrambling around to meet his opponent. The steadily growing chipmunk refused to end his assault, driving his claw deep into the flesh of enemy. The horrible sound of razor sharp claws grinding against bone graced Theodore's ears, surprising him. He'd never… done that before.

He'd never attacked someone so viciously in his life! Why was he so angry? Why was he covered in blood? He felt… happy to draw blood.

A growl was all the warning the chipmunk had before dozens of teeth snapped onto his small, but growing, form. The wolf felt a sense of satisfaction, feeling the spine of his prey snap and the coppery taste of blood enter his mouth. Theodore's cries of agony were a song the predator had heard many times before.

Theodore's hand shook as he continued to drive the claw in it. Somehow he could still feel his limbs. Weird.

The wolf spat the smaller animal out, feeling the deep cut in his mouth. His maw was covered in their combined blood, driving the larger animal to maim and kill. And so he did. The wolf charged at Theodore, two powerful limbs driving down onto the chipmunk.

Theo couldn't recover fast enough to dodge, and his strength nothing compared to the weight of the larger animal. The steel bars pressed into his bleeding wounds painfully. Theodore slashed at the vulnerable tendons in the wolf's legs. Blood poured into his face with each strike but the weight continued to bear down on him. Finally, the wolf's legs gave in. He fell to the side, limping to the side of the cage.

Theodore felt weak. He'd lost too much blood already. Keeping the larger animal from squashing him had already drained his energy. The chipmunk gave a sideward glance at his enemy, shocked to see the wound's he'd inflicted on larger animal repairing themselves.

The black creature erupted with laughter. He would be ready to fight in moments where his prey would not. Victory it seemed, was in his grasp. "Foolish boy. Did you think this would be easy? I am no simple creature. You are in my domain, and here I rule supreme. Die now, knowing that you failed yourself and your brothers." The vile beast rose, growing larger. The cage seemed to respond, growing larger until it had become a vast, silver prison.

The chipmunk had nothing left… but he couldn't die here. Not without seeing his brothers, his friends, and… Eleanor. He still had so much to tell her. Renewed strength poured into Theodore's limbs. The crimson blood that had blinded him fell from his eyes. His normally clean, chestnut brown fur turned messy and gray. His enlarged claws became even larger, and with them his whole body grew.

No, he would not die this day.

"You fight with conviction child. I suppose that means this is Round 3. Heh, very well. Come at me then whelp!" The wolf jeered. Yellow eyes stared down glowing green ones. _He does not fear me then. Determination to live is all that drives him. Let us see if he can truly overcome me._ The dark creature mused.

The two circled each other in this larger space. Eyes locking on each other. Teeth bared, ready to tear into flesh. They lunged, colliding heavily in the air.

**

* * *

**

Eleanor shook with fear. A graveyard was _not _her favorite vacation spot. She had nightmares ever since Brittany had made her watch those stupid zombie movies. This graveyard was starting to look strangely familiar. Strangely, the headstones were around her size. Everything seemed to be miniaturized. Very peculiar…

The shuffling of feet against stone broke her train of thought.

"Teddy? Is that you?"

No response was forthcoming. The chipette held the beautiful feather in her hands tighter, finding comfort at its soft touch. But this nightmare of hers would not let up. The ground shook at the girl's feet, nearly knocking her over.

"An earthquake? Wait! This is how my nightmare usually… oh no. No no no no!" Her head swiveled in all directions, watching decaying _paws_ pull themselves out of the ground. Chipmunks poured out of their not-so-final resting places. All had their ghastly sights set on her. The strange, or terrifying, thing was that they weren't just _any_ chipmunks. They were chipmunks from Percy's city. Hundreds crawled out of mausoleums and graves, craving the taste of flesh. Then she saw them. Alvin and Brittany's corpses limped out of their graves to her right. Then behind her, Simon and Jeanette crawling out of their holes.

Eleanor chose to run. She passed dozens of graves, watching paws reach out of them. The undead converged on her, coming from all sides. Their decaying corpses were all too real for the chipette. This was no nightmare. Soon enough Eleanor was surrounded. The once dead creatures reached out at her with limbs covered in worms. Muscle that was usually underneath skin was now on display gruesomely. This couldn't be real. Nothing like this could happen, not to her, not now!

The undead closed in, grabbing at her. Eleanor tried to pull away but more hands took hold of her. She felt herself fall under the weight of the bodies pressing themselves against her. The chipmunk could smell the decay in the air. She couldn't die here. Not here. Not when Theodore needed her!

_Teddy…_

The mass of bodies shook dangerously. Streaks of bright light shined in every direction. The pile of undead bodies exploded as angelic wings unfurled themselves. Eleanor looked upon the new development with surprise. Her angel feather was gone. _So that was what the feather was for. Thank you Jeremiah. I won't let you down!_

Eleanor's once green dress turned into a golden brown cuirass. This armor would protect her, she hoped. Green eyes filled with hope took to the skies. Using her new altitude, the girl looked around for any sign of her friend. But the nightmare would not be beaten so quickly.

Eleanor dodged a stone head from a monument, gasping at the sudden attack. Her eyes caught the sight of two gargoyles, already heading straight at her. Without missing a beat, the chipette fled. Her pursuers would not give so easily. They nipped at her feet, close enough to just touch the hairs of her fur.

Round and round the three flew, Eleanor becoming frustrated at the stone creatures' stubborn pursuit. The girl dropped, watching the gargoyles fly above and away from her. Eleanor flew the other way, the stone hunters already circling around in response. _Don't these guys give up?_ _Maybe if I…. is that the feather?_ Sure enough, her missing feather was there in her hand. The shaft of the feather grew larger, becoming a spear in its own right. The tip didn't look very sharp but with no other weapons available it was all she had.

_Well, its worth a shot at least. _The armored chipette circled round, facing her two enemies with determination set on her face. "I don't want to fight you, but I will if it means saving Teddy!"

The stone creatures said nothing and charged. Eleanor gave her own charge. With a mighty thrust, she pierced one of the oncoming gargoyles straight through the head. The creature froze up and collapsed to the floor. It shattered on impact, the unintended shrapnel hitting the zombies milling around below.

"Woah… that's cool! See buddy, you don't wanna mess-" heavy stone crashed into the chipette's armored body as the gargoyle tacked Eleanor in midair. Its claws tore at whatever was not covered by her plate cuirass. All the girl could do was bite back a scream. Instead Eleanor choose to push the grave creature off. She slashed at her rock hard enemy with the spear, feeling the tip create a gash across the creature's torso. It swiped at her in return. Stone claws smacked into the armor with little effect. Eleanor slashed again and again, the gargoyle loosing bits and pieces of its body under the assault.

With a final thrust the gargoyle was finished. Stone returned to its lifeless form and collapsed to the ground with its former companion. The chipette felt a sense of satisfaction with the victory. Now she could look for Theodore. A massive cage loomed in the distance. An inky black fog covered the sight soon after.

_He's got to be there. Don't worry Theo, Eleanor is comin to getcha!_

**

* * *

**

Theodore tore at the tender muscle above him, claws easily cutting open the stomach of his larger opponent. The beast replied by snapping its jaw down on Theo's body. The wolf couldn't fit the whole chipmunk in his mouth anymore. Though that didn't make the bite any less painful. Incisors plunged into soft tissue and sliced through it. The chipmunk only grunted in pain before lashing out with his claws. Jagged claws ripped through the muzzle and into the wolf's gums. The fiend released Theodore but not before slamming the smaller animal into the bars of the cage.

Both creatures fought tooth and nail. Neither let up on their assaults, neither stopped their attacks. No reprieve was sought out nor granted, yet the two couldn't mend their wounds fast enough to keep up with the attacks being thrown at each other.

Theodore had the advantage. His speed allowed him to strike fast and hit hard. The other animal knew the battle was lost when Theodore sank his teeth into the exposed neck of his enemy. Two rows of sharp teeth tore at vulnerable tissue. The jugular was easily sliced open. The death blow was dealt.

The wolf attempted to put up one final resistance but strong claws continued their assault wherever they could reach, rending through muscle and into important organs. It was over within moments. Theodore released the dying beast. He had… killed today. Or soon enough he would have. The wolf was loosing a lot of blood from, everywhere really. Theodore had plenty of blood on himself as well.

Whether it was his or not wasn't something he wanted to think about at the moment. Sleep seemed better… yes sleep. He was so tired.

_Maybe just a quick nap then… Is that Eleanor?_

"Teddy!"

Theodore felt his legs fail him. He just wanted to sleep.

**

* * *

**

"Teddy!"

Eleanor watched the black fog dissipate to reveal his friend towering over the fallen body of a dog or something. He was covered in blood.

While normally the thought would have horrified her, it only worried her. In this nightmare Theodore must have gone through some hell. But at least he was alive, for the most part. Theodore collapsed on the floor. The chipette was going to rush to the cage but felt a hand grab her arm.

"Don't touch that cage kid. You won't like the result."

"Vex? When did you…" Eleanor shook her head. There was enough of this psychic, teleportation crap to last a lifetime. All Eleanor wanted now was to get out of here. "Just tell me how to open this cage."

"Strike it with the feather and we can all go home."

The younger chipette looked confused for her part. With a skeptical glance, Eleanor did as she was told.

The world shattered at impact.

**

* * *

**

The chipette awakened moments later, taking in her new environment. Two female chipmunks crowded her on a short green bed. "Eleanor, are you alright?"

A feather gently floated down coming to a rest at the edge of the bed. _So it wasn't a dream after all…_

"Yeah… I think I'll be okay."

**

* * *

**

Oh…

My…

God…

So yeah this was actually pretty goddamn long. I won't update for a little while. My dad has me on the short whip with summer homework. To be honest I'm procrastinating but hey, its better than doing work. Am I right?

Anyway, enjoy this looooonnnngg chapter. This may in fact be my longest chapter yet!

Next up is **Simon Seville**. Guess how he'll get his Talent. Hehe. The last to receive powers will be Alvin and Brittany.

Again thanks to all who reviewed, read the story, gave a damn.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

So here I am again, with a not so late but late enough that it isn't my style chapter. I'll tell you right now that an entire day was lost from writers block. I had literally written myself into a hole as I tried to find a way that could possibly, and uniquely, give Simon his Talent.

I found none. So, I went with what I could scrape up from the depths of my imagination. Good, but not great I guess...

**

* * *

**

He had patch of rough fur on the back of his neck. Each hair stood out individually but part of the collective whole.

"…nor …ing …t"

Oversized glasses occupied a large part of his face. They cleverly hid the handsome boy. His features were getting sharper, more defined.

"Ar… sten … to me?"

The way his nose would twitch when he was deep in thought, the way his eyes would dart across the room as if inspiration lay just within sight, close enough to reach out and grab it.

"Eleanor!" Brittany yelled out in exasperation.

The youngest chipette shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "There's no need to yell Brittany!" Eleanor fired back. The green-clad chipette was in no mood for her eldest sister's big mouth.

Brittany, for her part, simply crossed her arms and tapped her feet impatiently. Eleanor was supposed to help her make some snacks before they ordered the movie. Alvin had won the staring contest, despite cheating the entire time. Eleanor had spaced out four times already, and the snack making suffered because of it.

The odd part was, Eleanor was staring right at Simon the whole time. Theodore and "nerd-boy" were having a chess match with the miniature pieces Simon had gotten just the other day. It wasn't hard to figure out who was winning.

Eleanor went back to helping Jeanette with the smores. She was going to space out soon, judging by the constant glances she gave Simon. Brittany was hit with an idea. _That's something I can use…_

"So Ellie. Why were you staring at Simon? You find something interesting in his direction or what?" Brittany asked. Her voice was loud enough to get everyone's attention, unsurprisingly.

Eleanor gave her older sister the dirtiest glare she could muster. "I wasn't staring. I was… watching the chess match." To be honest, Eleanor was staring. She was getting this sense of curiosity about the guy. There was something about him today…

Brittany didn't buy it. "Are you sure about that? That look you were giving him was pretty intense. If I didn't know better-"

"You don't know better Brit." Alvin called out from the couch. A stupid grin was plastered on his face, watching his counterpart rear back in anger.

"Shut it Alvin!" The eldest sister turned back to look at Eleanor. "Ellie there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Staring at boys-"

"I wasn't staring!"

"In all honesty Eleanor, you were kind of staring. Several times." Jeanette pointed out behind her younger sister. Eleanor gave her a dirty look as well, causing the bespectacled chipette to regret talking.

"I. Wasn't. Staring! Now drop it!"

Alvin rushed to Simon's side, pulling him close. "Eleanor, I saw you staring too. If your into my bro, just say so. I'll tell you-"

Eleanor pulled at her hair and yelled in frustration. The girl dashed out of the room, knocking over several of the smores neatly arranged on a nearby plate.

"Jeez. A little melodramatic Ellie!" Brittany called after her sister.

Alvin looked at the affair with rapidly falling enthusiasm. Eleanor's anger reminded him of something… strange. "Simon, Theodore, band meeting. Now!" He whispered

"What is it this time Alvin? I should hope it isn't another one of your inane pranks. I told you that the last time, _was_ the last time I'd ever help you with a prank." Simon asked, suspicious of his brothers intentions.

"I… I want to talk about what happened a few days ago."

Theodore raised an eyebrow in confusion. "But I thought you said we shouldn't ever talk about _that_ ever again."

"Yeah well, things change Theo. I spoke to Brittany the other day. She said that Eleanor was acting weird last night too. She and Jeanette think it might have something to do with that Talent stuff Percy was telling us."

Simon's face filled his name with disgust. "I don't believe that guy or anything he says. For all we know, it could've been something Theodore ate." Theodore went into deep thought at that. He only had three pancakes… and a chocolate bar… and some cold pizza. Maybe it _was_ something he ate.

"I know Si but remember what he said? Everyone has a Talent. What if something like this happens to you or me? Hell, you and I both know Jeanette's been acting weird ever since Percy pulled her Talent out of her."

Simon was caught off guard at that. _Low blows Alvin? Really? _

But his older brother did have a point. Jeanette now had a faraway look in her eye. She would always wear that knowing smile. She was becoming a lot more cryptic with him, like she knew something but wouldn't tell him.

"Simon, all I'm trying to say is that this could be a problem for us and-"

"Look Alvin, I'll… I'll talk with Eleanor and figure out what's going on. Once I get her side of the story _then_ we figure out our next course of action. Until then, stop harassing me." Simon replied quickly.

Theodore frowned as he watched his brother go and talk to his best friend. Eleanor was the only person other than his brothers that he could really talk to. The only person who understood him, who shared his love of food. _I hope Simon can fix this._

**

* * *

**

Simon decided to tread carefully. An angry Eleanor was a violent Eleanor, much like her sister. They were more alike than either would let on, especially because neither would admit it.

"Eleanor? Are you in here?" Simon asked, poking his head into one of the guest rooms. Claire's house looked a lot smaller than it really was, holding several spare rooms and a small home theater in the basement. Where Claire got the money, she never said. Though Simon had his theories. He always did.

"Go away Simon. I don't want to talk right now."

The chipmunk usually would've complied easily, but Alvin was a stubborn one. Alvin would push the issue until eventually he'd take it in his own hands. Eventually Alvin would make a mess of things and Simon knew he'd have to fix it as usual.

"Eleanor this is important. I need to know what happened when we came back a few days ago." He persisted. Eleanor gave a sigh and waved for him to get up on the bed. With a measured leap, he joined the chipette. Eleanor had been… crying? "Are you okay?"

The lightly furred chipette didn't respond. Tears threatened to burst forth again on her face, and she looked away ashamed. Eleanor was always the stronger of her sisters, the wind beneath their wings. She supported them when they needed help, always. She'd never cried in front of her sisters.

Ever.

"That night, I… went blind. Sort of. The room got really bright all of a sudden. There was light all around me and I couldn't see. Then I fell unconscious but I could still see the light. I didn't know what was going." Eleanor noted the irony. This was the room she had slept in, the room she nearly died in. The room she almost went to heaven in.

"This angel, Jeremiah, he visited me in my sleep. I had to fight in a graveyard and save Theodore. It was weird 'cause I had wings too. And my fur turned really bright! It was just… weird."

Simon cocked his head to the side, curious. "Must have been one heck of a dream. Theodore said you saved him in his dream. Your description fits his for the most part. Though he didn't mention a graveyard." The lanky boy paced around the bed, throwing ideas around and shaking his head soon after.

Eleanor stared in response. She noted how he would point and write in the air as if there was something there. The way he adjusted his glasses when he was deep in thought. The way he would break out into a smile when a string of thoughts came to a favorable result. The way he-

"Eleanor?"

"Mmm?"

"You were, ah, staring. Are you okay?" He asked once again, knowing she wouldn't answer instinctively.

Eleanor huffed and tried to stand. He legs wobbled in a showing of weakness. She stumbled, bringing Simon to her side instantly. "Woah woah, Eleanor."

The girl looked at him. He was so close now. Her heart fluttered nervously. Her legs lost all strength. Her arms shot out like bullets, grabbing hold of his sweater.

"Ow, Eleanor you-mmmff" Her lips found his, cutting off his pained response. Her arms pulled him close, even as he tried to pull away. Their pulses' raced. Their minds went blank. Their bodies went numb as a flurry of emotions flashed through them.

It lasted only moments, but to both it felt like an eternity. Simon fell back onto the bed in shock. Eleanor fared no better. The question that ran through both of their minds was _Why?_

"I, uh, am just. Will be there. Over there. And. Yeah." Simon whispered, stumbling to fix his glasses. The chipmunk crawled backwards off the bed and fell to the floor painfully. He ran off, leaving the chipette alone. _Why'd I kiss him? What came over me, I've never felt like about Simon before. _

_What's wrong with me?_

**

* * *

**

Simon entered the living room with shock still written plainly over his features. One look at Theodore, and all the brainy chipmunk could feel was guilt. He'd just… He really did just…

_Oh boy…_

"Yo Simon! What happened? You look like you saw a ghost or somethin bro." Alvin called perturbed. Simon was losing his cool a lot more often these days. What with Percy being an ass and all the weird crap going on.

"Well bro? Did you talk to her?"

"|_Yes Simon. Did you talk to her?|_"

Simon's head swiveled around to the right, catching sight of a ghastly figure. This ghost couldn't be Vex. Not with the masculine features and all. For some reason, no one else in the room reacted to the hollow voice. Odd…

The blue-clad chipmunk turned to face his brother. "I, uh. Yeah. I talked with her."

Simon looked back and the figure was gone. Not unexpected. In fact, the whole affair was quite cliché. Random ghosts appearing out of nowhere to annoy the living? Just a normal day for the Sevilles.

God he hoped Dave booked them all a vacation.

Alvin had been staring at his younger brother expectantly. Simon would always lose track of himself like this. "Well? What'd she say?"

"That's… well… She had a similar incident occur to her too. I think they shared dreams as well, with all the striking similarities between the two dreams."

"|_Wow Simon. You sure are smart. What's next, a Nobel Prize? A ship to the moon? Oh wait, that's all been done before.|_"

The figure now floated horizontally beside Simon. "You know, I think I need to go to the bathroom." Simon dashed into the hallway with the specter at his heels.

"That nerd gets weirder every day."

**

* * *

**

"Okay, now tell me your name, your reason for being here, and why I'm not surprised."

The ghost chuckled. _"|My name is Usiah, figure it out, and because its your coping mechanism.|"_

"Oh?" Simon replied with a curious tone. "How is not being surprised a coping mechanism."

The spirit chuckled again, the hollow edge evident to the living chipmunk. _"|Maybe I should make myself clearer. You choose to accept things the way they are. Instead of questioning the unexpected, you choose the path of acceptance. Not an unusual thing to do. Still, its not good for your psychological health.|"_

"...What? Whatever, just tell me why you're here."

"_|I came from beyond the grave. See, I originally lost my memory. I couldn't remember who I was or what I was supposed to be doing. Next thing you know I'm eaten by pure light and forced to enter the body of a young chipette. Not your average day exactly." _The poltergeist replied_. "I quickly regained my memory over the few days I was stuck in her. Still, I found my purpose the minute I saw you.|"_

"Your purpose?"

"_|Yeah. I'm a ghost dude. I have some otherworldly mission to complete or something like that. Anyway, the way this works is that I need a living body to act as an anchor. Thus, I'm using your damaged soul to fit part of my own. The rest of it orbits your body which has part of my soul in it. Get it?|"_

The living chipmunk shook his head. "No. How is my soul damaged?"

"_|Everyone's soul is, at least at first. Mortals are pretty much shells with no life experiences and the like when they are first born. As you spend more time on this plane of existence, you become shaped by the events surrounding you. Its why children are more sensitive to the paranormal.|"_

"How do you even know all of this? You couldn't have possibly been dead for more than a few days." Simon asked with suspicion in his voice. This weird crap was getting to him. There was a _ghost_ of all things living inside of his body and he wasn't even the slightest bit shocked. Just annoyed.

"_|I guess i just learned it while I was dead. I don't know. But what I'm saying is 100 percent true Simon. But hey, its not all that bad. Now you have a roommate… or bodymate as the case may be.|"_ Usiah responded wistfully. The phantom chipmunk twirled about in the air, enjoying his acrobatic display.

Simon was not amused.

"Okay, so if you were originally in Eleanor's body, how'd you get in mine?"

Usiah stopped his aerial acrobatics instantly. _"|Oh… right. You many not like this. Um… my Talent, when I was alive, was the ability to manipulate emotions. In order to pass from one being to another, I needed some kind of bridge. Emotional ones are quite easy to make and break, if you know the right buttons to push. It was a lot harder because you tend to shy away from the easy ones like anger._

_Anyway, I had to find a way to get Eleanor to find some emotional interest in you. I ramped up her desire, juiced her interest, and bam! We had the first stage of love. When you got close enough I really let the girl have it. That kiss was enough to let me pass from her body and into yours.|"_

Usiah finished with a laugh. The look on Simon's face was hilarious. The shock was like a bomb dropping on his head. Funny stuff that…

Simon was still not amused.

"|You think this is funny? Those were some of the worst moments of my life and your taking this as a joke?"

Usiah waved off the chipmunk, returning to his previous airborne antics. Simon fumed at him. What was it with people messing with him? Was he everyone's emotional punching bag? This was getting ridiculous.

"_|Ah, Simon. Haven't you figured out why I chose you as a shell for my spirit?|"_

The bespectacled chipmunk lost a bit of his anger to the curiosity. They had never met before. What interest could Usiah possibly have had with him? If this was more spooky ghost crap, he'd tear the guy out and give him to Alvin. Alvin was better at dealing with the inane.

"_|Aww… That's a shame. I chose you because you and me have similar Talents. Unlocking it couldn't possibly get any easier. In fact, you get two choices.|"_

That was a surprise. "And what would those choices be 'O bearer of bad news?" Simon asked sarcastically.

"_|Normally your supposed to find out how to unlock your Talent by yourself in some stupid task of enlightenment, but I'll tell you. You just need to stop accepting things the way they are. Get angry, lose your cool. Flip the truck out man. That's the long path.|" _

Simon gave the other chipmunk an expecting look, causing the ghost to sigh.

"_|Or you can find something that is so emotionally stimulating that it blows your mind.|"_

Before Simon could inquire any further, a few tiny knocks came from the bathroom door.

"Yo Simon, you okay in there man? You've been in there for like, an hour. Need some help?" Alvin poked his head inside. "You still haven't told me and Theo what Eleanor told you. And how'd you even use the bathroom? That toilet is wayyyy too big. Hell I thought you were still scared of toilets ever since you were swirlied last year."

Simon groaned. How many times did he have to tell Alvin that knocking didn't mean he could just barge in. The smell of chocolate and cinnamon greeted him as Alvin opened the door some more. This was a perfect moment to rage against his brother, as per Usiah's instructions. But could he? Not since _that_ day, no. The only other option was to find something big enough to provoke him into an emotional state.

Not an easy task.

"Alvin… never mind. Did Eleanor say anything?"

"Yeah, she was whispering to her sisters just a few minutes ago. Why?"

Simon bit back fear. _Oh brother…_

**

* * *

**

_**Meanwhile…**_

"Fired!" Dave cried in outrage. This couldn't be happening. Not now, not this soon.

"I'm sorry Mr. Seville, but as the new executive of Jett Records I feel the need to take this company in a new direction. Sadly, this direction takes us away from the Chipmunks and the Chipettes."

Dave settled down in his chair, shaking with anger. "Mr. Johansson, just hear me out. These kids have been with Jett Records for years. They've produced album after album and gone on every tour. You can't take away the one thing they love the most in this world!"

The executive stood from his chair, arms hanging in defeat. "I'm sorry Mr. Seville but there is nothing more I can do. I truly wish the best for your boys. You'll need it. Now please show yourself out or I will be forced to call security."

Dave sat there in shock, incapable of understanding this entire situation. His boys had worked hard all these years. They loved their music careers.

Now it was all gone.

"Mr. Seville. If its any consolation, you are still employed here." Johansson tried. His remorseful eyes met hate-filled ones.

Dave attempted a response, but felt a hand on his shoulder. "I think its time for you to leave." The angry songwriter narrowed his eyes and a certain distaste filled him. _I know that voice, anywhere._

Mr. Johansson looked over Dave's shoulder to find his next appointment waiting for him. "Ah, yes. Mr. Hawke. We have much to discuss."

**

* * *

**

_**Several Hours Later…**_

"_|Simon, think about this for a second.|_" Usiah urged his living anchor. He was ignored entirely.

"_|Cmon Simon. I'm part of you man, you can't ignore me forever.|_"

"Mhmm."

"_|Simon, this is madness!|_"

The chipmunk stopped in his tracks. "… really? You really used that old joke?"

"_|Whatever. Just accept my help. You can't suppress your Talent.|_"

"Why shouldn't I? You people just waltz into my life and think you can govern it. I'm tired of listening to this crap." Simon turned to face Usiah, a snarl across his face. "I had to talk to Jeanette and explain to her why Eleanor kissed me. I sounded so ridiculous that Jeanette laughed at me. She laughed!"

"_|Well to be honest… Never mind. You can't just give up on me man! Suppressing your Talent can be dangerous, even fatal! The effects on yourself and others will become permanent!|"_

"This has gone on long enough. No one is telling me how to run _my_ life. Especially not some psychotic ghost!"

"_|Simon, I'm part of you now. You and me, we're like… inseparable. I can see that this'll be a problem and I'm scared Simon. I'm scared you'll do something stupid. When the time is right, you'll see the truth in my words. This isn't just some creepy ghost stuff I'm doing. Its part of a struggle you can't avoid. When you need my help, ask for it. I'll be waiting.|_" With that said, the dead chipmunk let out an otherworldly wail as he flew at his reluctant host. Simon could flinch when Usiah entered his body. _I'll never get used to that…_

Alvin poked his head into the guest room, surprised at the mess all over the floor. Simon had emptied his things from his luggage onto the floor. Odd considering how neat and organized the intelligent chipmunk usually was.

"Dave's back, and he has some news. You uh, you alright? You've been like this all day Simon." Alvin asked carefully.

"I'm fine, or at least I will be." Simon said absentmindedly. _I wonder what Dave has to say? Some good news I hope… _

**

* * *

**

Wow… ran out of inspiration/time to handle the last scene.

Anyway, enjoy knowing that it took me forever to get this baby out. Its of lower quality than what I'm used to, but meh.

Just… yeah.

Anyway, **Alvin/Brittany **will be getting their Talents in the next chapter. I have something more… entertaining for that particular chapter. Consider this as more filler, less action.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Whew… slow updates are tough. I find updating fast gets the creative juices flowing, it challenges you, it punishes complacency, and it promotes good ideas with good writing.

Ah well, that's my two cents. I'd like to get yours. Review after your done reading my collective bros. I'd appreciate it. Another weird thing I'd like to note. Time seems to slow down between updates. For any of you who are like me (I.E. pump the creative juices into some project then completely lose track of time for the next week.), its real easy for me to get lost in the sands of time.

Ah, well. Enough rambling. On to the story!

**

* * *

**

Dave could hear his blood running. It was a torrent of guilt flowing through each and every vein, feeding his undeserving limbs with life. Dave was ashamed, utterly and completely.

If he'd just…

_No._ He thought. _This was completely beyond my control. I… couldn't have done anything. Could I? I just don't know anymore…_

But now his sons were looking at him with shining, expectant eyes. Dave questioned if he his decision to tell them now. It'd crush them, and himself. Dave still couldn't believe he was being hit with this so soon after his boys had returned.

"Dave?"

The flagellant father looked down at Theodore's worried look and tears welled in his eyes. How was he going to tell them? What kind of parent would he be to just destroy the dreams of his children?

Simon entered the room and went straight to the point. "You have some news for us Dave?"

"I guess we should take a seat. Where are the girls?"

"Here Dave!" Brittany called out from the couch. Her two sisters poked their heads out from the side of the couch.

"Oh… well, uh take a seat boys." Dave told them in a clipped voice, still looking for the right words.

With everyone seated, Dave knew there was no escaping it. The kids in the room were growing up. Alvin and Simon were already twelve going on thirteen. That, and hiding something from Simon and Alvin was like begging for trouble.

"Listen, kids… I was called down to Jett Records for business. As it turns out the new executive, Mr. Johansson, wanted to tell me that…" Dave paused to take a breath. The painful lump in his throat and the tears welling up in his eyes betrayed the anger he felt. "The Chipmunks and The Chipettes have been fired from Jett Records." Dave said all at once.

The children around him all held faces containing absolute shock. "Dave stop messing around. Good one, your hilarious. Now really, what's the news?" Alvin laughed nervously. No one joined him.

"Dave, your joking right? I mean, how could anyone fire _us_?"

"Alvin could you stop stroking your ego right now. This is serious." Simon growled next to him.

"I'm being serious! We've made millions in concert sales. We're probably making more in merchandise too. I mean, I can understand the Chipettes being fired…"

Brittany bristled at that. In fury, she rushed Alvin and gave him a vicious tackle. With the chipette standing above him, Alvin gasped for air.

"Alvin, your not very smart. I thought you would've learned not to anger Brittany like that…" Jeanette shrugged her indifference and Simon found himself agreeing with her.

"So, got anything else to say Alvin?" Brittany taunted. Alvin chose to ignore his counterpart in favor of nursing his wounds. "That's what I thought." She said smugly. She'd never admit it, but

"Despite Alvin's… callousness, he does have a point Dave. With all our accomplishments, our careers could only go up. I find it strange that we'd get fired for being successful." Simon mused.

"Strange? This is an outrage!" Eleanor replied angrily. Theodore cringed at her the sound of her squeaky voice raised in fury. He'd never seen Eleanor so angry.

"I know, but there's nothing I can do. The only thing we were allowed was the remaining money in our contract, which was about two million dollars if I remember correctly." Dave replied reassuringly.

"Dave, I think the principle matters more than the practice in this particular case." Jeanette told him. "None of us really care about the money." Alvin and Brittany gave the purple-clad chipette shock filled stares.

Jeanette gave them an annoyed one in return. "The point is, we shouldn't have been fired. As far as I know, we did nothing to be laid off. Maybe you should consider legal action Dave."

"Or alternatively, we can always find another record company. With our combined singing ability, we should easily land a record deal." Simon countered. He didn't look forward to a long and protracted legal battle if it came to it.

"Well I think-" The door bell rang, interrupting Dave. At the door was a man in a working shirt with a tag that read The Institute for Human Affairs.

"Mr. Seville?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Well, this is your subpoena. You gotta show up in court in two weeks." The man explained. Dave gave him a questioning look.

"Subpoena?"

"I don't know the details sir, I just hand out the court orders. Good day." The man handed Dave the court papers, tipped his hat, and walked away.

**

* * *

**

"Percy, I hope you feel sorry for sending me to the fucking hospital for two weeks! Man, I missed my Goddamned ICP concert! I was looking forward to that for weeks…" Rick called out. Percy's penthouse echoed its emptiness, each word rebounding off the walls. The dim lighting made it hard for Rick to find a light switch.

"Percy? You here bro?" No response. Rick prodded the hole in his vest contemplatively as he usually did. _Where is he?_

Rick continued past the living room and into the kitchen. When he flicked the nearby light switch, sterile white blinded him. Light flooded from… everywhere? It seemed like it. The chipmunk pondered the source of the light, but quickly dismissed it as a miracle.

Miracles… now that was certainly something. Rick loved miracles. Like this room. This room was like a miracle and a half. It was like fucking rainbows flying on exploding motherfucking magical elephants.

Rick snapped out of his miracle induced stupor and decided to leave to the next room. Coming out the way he came, Rick entered the control center. It was a sight to see, and the biggest room he'd seen in this entire city. Massive plasma screen televisions and miniature computers were liberally spread across the room. The soft, luminous glow of the televisions was the only light available. Needless to say, this room was even darker than the living room.

The screens seemed to connect to cameras, with an overhead birds-eye view of the areas in question. One was somewhere on the floor, or at least lower than the sign in front of a cemetery, "Redwood Memorial Park…" he read aloud. The sign was glossy white with bright red words. It stood perfectly erect to the right of an imposing iron gate.

Odd, to say the least.

The gate itself seemed to lack any visible sign of rust. Vast acres of headstones, monuments, and mausoleums went on as far as the eye could see. A zephyr of air flowed across the neatly trimmed grass and clean cut granite, gently swaying the trees in the distance. Rick glanced at the label just above the screen. "Serenity…" He read.

More fucking miracles.

The other screens had a myriad of names like Rot, Rebirth, Pestilence, etc. The strangest of all was the screen named Destruction. It was centered over the blaze that was once an impressive but imposing structure. On the quickly degenerating roof, a beast of some kind tore at the air with its claws. It wasn't very big, just about the size of a large dog. The sheer sight of it was terrifying. The video feed seemed to be looping, with the same series of claw swipes and collapsing roof continuing full circle.

"Man… this is some weird shit. Yo Percy, you here?" Rick called out. Still no response. "Must be in the little asshole's room. Ah well, I suppose I can wait."

The chipmunk shrugged helplessly. He'd just have to wait for his main man to get home. Then he'd wail on that jerk's ass for being such a bad host. And for putting him in the hospital. That too.

**

* * *

**

"|_Simon…. Siiiiiimon…_|"

"How many times do I have to request you to shut up?" Simon asked exasperatedly. The poltergeist continued his other worldly wail, calling Simon's name incessantly.

"|_As many times as it takes for me to say: request denied._|" Usiah replied in his chilling wail. Irritated beyond belief, the living chipmunk continued his work. A long line of car batteries stood together. Each was connected to one another through common electrical wire and wired to a machine glued to the wall.

"_|Simon, you do realize how dangerous this is. Right? I mean, your house is practically an abandoned battlefield. Hell, the ceiling could collapse on you at any moment. Those beams don't look very stable.|"_ The ghost cautioned. In fact, the basement ceiling wasn't stable. With half of the house collapsed from heavy damage to the Seville home's support structures, any part of the building could give way.

Simon only snorted in response. "Tis the life of a scientist. My projects are very important to me. Some of them are worth a few limbs too." The chipmunk explained slowly. Simon was busy at the row of batteries, checking and then double checking the wiring.

"_|What are you doing anyway?|"_

Simon gave a pained sigh. With a heavy heart, he began explaining the use of the batteries. "I connected these batteries using electrical wire to make a battery bank. The car batteries should pool their combined electricity into the inverter over on the wall. From there I can charge whatever power tools or devices I need. Or in this case, power the coded locking mechanisms that protect this door. That's why I'm in the basement." A single clawed digit pointed at the steel, reinforced door in front of him. "Through there lies the fruits of my labors. It'd be stupid, not to mention wasteful to just leave all of my experiments to rot. Most require constant observation. Besides, I want to make sure whoever destroyed my house didn't make off with anything through this door." The chipmunk finished. His eyes glanced over the surplus wire.

"Well, its now or never." Steeling himself for any misfortune, the chipmunk began the process of striping and cutting wire. Soon enough he had the business end of the wire electrified. Hesitantly, Simon connected the wire to the wires poking out of the keypad. Fortunately, nothing exploded as the outcome was most likely to come to.

Simon exhaustedly wiped his brow. It took hours just to get the battery bank running. At least now he could get into his personal, million dollar lab. It was the only gift he ever wanted; the only gift he ever needed.

"Alright. Lets see if this thing works." Tentatively, Simon inserted the code. The noisy grinding of gears and unlatching of locks filled the room. When the process was over, a loud rush of air signaled the opening of the airtight room. A mechanical arm pushed the heavy door open for the much smaller chipmunk. The sight within would've pushed many a scientist to tears.

Vials, beakers, and test tubes existed as far as the eye could see. A playground of scientific exploration. He hadn't shown Jeanette this sprawling complex yet. Simon wanted to wait until her birthday, the day he would ask her out. She was turning thirteen in November on the eve of thanksgiving. It would be a day she'd never forget. Or at least, he hoped so.

Simon hoped with all of his being that his creation hadn't perished during his absence. The raid on their house and subsequent escape to the chipmunk city wasn't a particularly convenient occurrence; that much was certain. "C'est la vie…"

"_|Woah… you don't get out much, do you?|"_ Usiah teased. Simon ignored him outright, instead going to his experiment directory. Everything in his lab was carefully recorded. From inventory requisitions to experimental procedures, _everything_ had to be logged.

"Hmm is it C11-24B? No… Maybe I left it in B8-62?… Ah! S11-25 subsection 11. Perfect." Simon grinned like a madman. On Jeanette's birthday he'd showcase his greatest experiment. An anonymous, yet extremely kind friend over the internet had given him ninety percent of the coding necessary to make this truly extraordinary being.

Simon looked around the sterile lab, appreciative that this place had come out entirely unscathed. There was an organized chaos about the lab. "A professional chaos…" he joked quietly to himself. While Simon was usually a very tidy and orderly person, the long nights and excited highs of discovery often dulled his need to clean.

Dave had all of this built secretly for him. Should Alvin ever find out… Simon shuddered at that thought and chose to drop it. His nosy brother could try and get in, but this lock was one that even the king of all pranksters couldn't open. Theodore was much more considerate about the privacy of others; a trait Simon was often thankful for.

"_|It amazes me how much of a stereotypical nerd you are Simon. Still, each to his own.|"_ Usiah remarked. The ghost explored the vast laboratory with enthusiasm, prodding through each and every corner. Simon smiled softly at the spirit's excitement. Then another thought crossed his mind.

"Hey Usiah, do you think you've changed since you were alive?"

The dead chipmunk stopped his antics for a moment to contemplate. "_|Sure I do… The first change that comes to mind is my Talent. Like I said, I can affect the emotions of others. But when I was alive, that came at a price. Obsessions came and went. Usually my obsessions took the form of fears. I was scared of everything. Literally everything manifested at one point or another into fear. I think I've had more fun being dead than alive.|" _The spirit explained. With a heavy sigh, Usiah continued "_|The next thing that comes to mind was that I was never really free. Percy pretty much governed every part of our lives. Things I've always wanted to do were forbidden. I understood why, but that never stopped the urge to be free. Now, I can do whatever the hell I want.|" _The ghost responded pensively. Simon nodded in absentminded agreement. Other, more pressing concerns had suddenly popped up. How would his creation react to his return after being away for so long? Nearly two weeks had passed since the incident at the mall.

How did his creation cope with the sudden loneliness? Simon resolved to find out for himself. With a measured leap, the chipmunk cleared the short cream counters and reached a single platfrom protruding out of the wall. A miniaturized touch screen computer was attached to the platform, being the machine that plotted destinations across the lab. The platform itself was also connected to the wall by rail, which moved horizontally across the lab.

For now, Simon needed to check on Jeanette's gift. He entered the coded name given to the top secret project and instantly felt the platform begin to traverse across much of the lab.

"_|So… what is so important you'd risk your life to save it?|"_ Usiah asked carefully. Angering the already annoyed chipmunk was not his intention. He was to mentor the chipmunk, much like Vex did for most of the other kids. Encouraging Simon's self-destructive resistance to his Talent was foolhardy. Simon had possibly one of the most important roles in the future.

"It's a gift for a certain someone I know." Simon replied quickly. He was much more interested in the many inactive machines sitting behind the window across from him. He caught a glimpse of his goal and sighed in relief. It looked relatively unharmed, if albeit dusty. As if acknowledging his presence, the machine in question glowed intensely for a moment. A soft, detached voice came from the machine moments later.

"Creator Seville, I was wondering when you would return. This unit has begun the process of booting up all other secondary runtimes now that you have returned. This unit had feared the worst but wished to reduce power usage just in case." The machine told him. A central purple orb rose from the top of the machine. From it sides, panels revealed thin robotic arms which immediately began the task of booting up and diagnosing the various electrical parts in the machine.

"No that's okay… You know, I decided that the task of naming you would go to Jeanette. Yet, now that I think about it, I think it's a better idea to have something to refer to you as." Simon began. The chipmunk had long mulled over the perfect name for his A.I.

"This unit believes it has come across a suitable name, Creator Seville: Matrix."

"Strange… but I suppose letting you name yourself is a start. Well, Matrix, give me a complete self-diagnosis."

The machine whirred momentarily as it compiled reports gathered over the last few weeks. The orb flashed green with approval, signaling its creator that the task was complete. "As I had stated before, all previous runtimes were shut down then rebooted as per normal emergency procedure. Several areas of the lab are in critical condition, Creator Seville. Warning! Some parts of the lab have been closed off due to air contamination to potentially lethal gases. Warning! Back up power has reached critical levels. Reconnection to the power grid has proven unsuccessful. I must recommend an immediate solution to the problem, Creator Seville. I cannot seem to reconnect with Creator Powers. It is unknown if this is due to mainline connection being severed or because of hardware failure. This will be remedied when all other runtimes have been reactivated and accounted for."

Simon nodded his acknowledgment. So his lab_ was _damaged. Sudden electrical cut off was the likely culprit. Though, admittedly, he hadn't put much thought into emergency planning. His longest running emergency scenario lasted only a week. Embarrassing considering he did live in a place where earthquakes were a daily routine for all. But in his defense, he thought. there was just too much going on at the moment.

"Standby for further instruction. For now, I'm going to go ahead and finish that superfluous patch I had planned." Simon commanded his construct. Well… it wasn't technically his. He had performed almost none of the work involved. An anonymous, yet philanthropic internet friend had sent him the construct. How, he would never know. Machines popping into an unknown yet secure lab with no logical, physical way of entering was quite the conundrum. Simon simply chalked it up to yet another strange chapter in his life.

Really, when was this shit ever explainable?

"As you wish, Creator Seville. But before you go, answer me this: Will you be here when I awaken?" Matrix's voice almost sounded hopeful, like that of a child to a parent.

"Yes Matrix. I will."

**

* * *

**

Percy groaned at his most recent revelation. "Ugh, Rick you ass."

Sam scratched his head in confusion. "Hmm? What's Rick gotta do with anything?"

"He's in my house, messing with my control center." Percy replied angrily. The money he had to pour into that room was beyond measure. Someone as stupid as Rick could potentially destroy everything he'd worked so hard to build.

That was unacceptable. "Sam, go stop his stupidity before it does any damage."

"Aye aye boss."

With that little crisis resolved Percy walked to the window looking over his city. It was a grand sight. Sprawling indigo homes filled the air with their complex tunnel systems. Like the branches of a tree, they spread across the vast underground expanse like a canopy. The "leaves" were actually just white lights that illuminated the city and highlighted its beauty.

There was nothing like this in the world. No. Not even in New York was there a city of this stature, the cocky bastards. Percy was reluctant to start a chipmunk commune in New York City but a revelation had given him enough reason to do so. Soon the conduit would be in his hands. The Institute could run around with their human agenda, but they would fall too. Like so many pawns.

And yet, the queen still remained out of his grasp. Percy was loosing this game. His pieces were being slaughtered by the dozen every day. Two communes had been destroyed recently, gassed out by a nerve agent. They were getting closer to this location.

But if he could just secure the conduit the match was his. Though for some reason, Percy knew he wasn't facing the Institute. They didn't normally operate like this. Either way, war was brewing. Percy could feel his death approaching. He seen it years ago, but it didn't make it any less surprising. He was dead in a year, and with him would go the communes' best chance at survival.

But perhaps his successor would prove successful. He'd test her mettle today. Reaching across the strands of space and time, he contacted the one person who could surpass him in strength.

**

* * *

**

Brittany felt a her brain tingle which was a particularly strange feeling. It was as if something was poking her brain, trying to get her attention. She shook her head for a bit and returned to the task of finding something good on T.V.

The tingling persisted however. With it came the unintelligible whispers which frankly freaked her the fuck out. Brittany tried ignoring it. Everyone around her was getting stranger by the day. What kind of example would she set if she turned out to be a weirdo like Simon or a spaz like Alvin?

And yet the whispers continued. This time Brittany could understand the voice speaking. "Brittannnnnnnyyyyy are ya there? This is Percy."

"Percy, what're doing in my head? Get out!" She whispered back so her sisters couldn't hear her from the kitchen. "You have a lot of nerve talking to me after that stunt you pulled."

"Cmon Brittany. You know I always have my reasons. Still, I am terribly sorry. Just hear me out."

"Mhmm."

Percy sighed, the sound carrying over their telepathic link."I know that you guys were released from your contracts recently. I also know that you guys are gonna run into some cash problems soon. Just let me help you."

"Last time you tried 'helping'-"

"Yeah yeah I know. No need to open old wounds. Please Brit. I'll be good this time, I promise. I'm just trying to help. Please Brittany, let me help." Percy begged pathetically. He had to really sell this. Appealing to Brittany's sense of superiority worked wonders in the past. That and begging. She always responded well to begging.

"Hmm… I guess I can try convincing the others. Alright. You've got one last chance Percy, don't fuck this up." She warned him.

Like taking candy from a baby. "Of course! Would I ever? I'll be over there shortly." He replied quickly before cutting off the link. He was finally going to test out his new theory.

Brittany, for her part, was confused. How was he going to get here "shortly"?

That was answered when a hand appeared through the television screen. A familiar face followed it. "Percy? What the hell?"

Jeanette and Eleanor turned to the sound of their sister's yelling and dashed over to her in an instant. They encountered their sister pulling half of Percy's body through the television screen while he flailed around pathetically.

"Well? Are you going to help?" Brittany asked expectantly. Her sisters simply crossed their arms in defiance.

Percy, feeling stupid for even trying to teleport through a television screen and painfully trying to keep his body parts from splitting at the waist, decided to fix this himself. With a concentrated snap of his fingers, he was shot like a bullet out of the Television and into the couch. The piece of furniture rocked dangerously but stood its ground.

Percy stood up slowly. He honestly felt terrible. Nearly dying could do that to a person. "Well, I'm here. Got anything to eat? I'm starving."

"Not for you." Eleanor responded quickly.

"Wow, okay. Look I'm sorry. Like, completely and totally sorry for being a jerk these past few weeks. Now can we let bygones be bygones?"

"No." This time it was Jeanette who spoke, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Girls, I think we should give him another chance." Brittany pleaded. Both sisters now held looks of suspicion.

"No way! You saw what he did to Jeanette and Simon. Percy isn't the same person anymore." Eleanor replied angrily. "Who knows what he might do next?"

"Hey that's not fair, I barely even touched Jeanette. And I was trying to get Simon's Talent out. It was important to the next part of my plan." He argued. Eleanor quickly turned to stare the older chipmunk down.

Percy could see that this was going to be difficult. "Well I don't care about that anymore. That plan's been dusted, abandoned, left to the wolves. All I need now is Brittany's Talent."

Brittany was shocked at that. "What?"

"You know, I've found its hard to hold a conversation with others when they can't see the future and I can."

**

* * *

**

"Why is it so hot in here?" Alvin whined yet again. Theodore rolled his eyes and retuned to his cookbook. Alvin groaned and fanned himself with his hand.

The two brothers were in Claire's room, the only one with an air conditioner. Alvin _was_ watching the football game from Dave's laptop but the heat had made the chipmunk lose his concentration. It was just too damn hot in here to do anything. At least for Alvin it was.

"I don't know how you and Simon can stand _reading _anything Theodore. Whoever invented books was obviously bulge deep in insanity when he did it." He said, hoping to get a rise out of Theodore. Yet his younger brother continued looking at the various recipes before him.

Alvin grunted in annoyance. He needed some distraction away from this heat. It was like the sun was taking a vacation in his body.

Then it came to him. _Yes! King of the hill, its perfect! Now to sneak up on my unsuspecting brother and take this hill._

Alvin moved silently never taking his eyes off his portly brother. With soft, measured steps he approached the chipmunk. Alvin's stomach was being a bit uncooperative however. It felt like an volcano was erupting inside of him. Speaking of erupting, Alvin felt like might erupt the content of his stomach soon. Unable to suppress it any further, Alvin vomited.

"Oh God, Alvin!" Theodore cried in distress. "My book's on fire!"

Alvin looked up to see the flames quickly consuming the flammable pages. Alvin lunged at the book and pushed it far off the bed. That crisis averted, Alvin went to brag about his heroics but felt no air leave his lungs. There was only smoke.

Theodore could only watch horrifyingly as his brother choked to death in front of him. Hot, gray smoke billowed from his older brother's nose and mouth. Through it all, Alvin managed to choke out a few words. "Theo… get… help!"

The green-clad chipmunk sprang to action, leaping far off the bed and running to find anyone who could save his brother. Theodore heard voices in the kitchen and darted in their direction. There he found Percy talking to the Chipettes. Although surprised, Theodore remained focused on his task.

"Alvin's choking! He needs help!"

Percy pushed past him in an instant, already speeding to the bedroom. Everyone else quickly fell in line, hurtling to assist Alvin. At the scene, Alvin was still choking, letting out nasty wheezing noises and tearing at his throat.

"Jeanette what's wrong with him!" Brittany said, visibly shaken.

"I don't know. For all the time he's been choking he should be dead, much less unconscious. Alvin seems to be breathing out smoke. I don't know of any medical conditions that could-"

The bespectacled chipette leaned in closed and carefully examined Alvin's still thrashing body. "Jesus Jeanette, this isn't one of your fucking documentaries okay!"

"Hey, I'm trying to help! Don't yell at me when your not even-"

"Girls! Stop it. I know what's the problem here. Its his Talent manifesting itself. It tends to happen from time to time." Percy told them. Alvin had all the signs present. The fact that the boy's chestnut brown fur was becoming drab gray and the tips of his paws were glowing red were easy indicators.

"So… c-can you help him?" Brittany asked hopefully. Percy gave her a warm smile.

"Of course I can. But I won't."

Brittany went from crestfallen to furious in moments. She instantly set upon the much larger chipmunk, tearing at his fur and shaking him violently. "What the hell Percy! You beg me to trust you and to let you help us, then you pull this on me? Help. Him." The distraught chipette demanded.

Percy gave her another smile, trying to repress the chuckles threatening to pour from his mouth. "Why, Brittany. I _could _help him. But the only reason I won't is because I want you to do it." He replied simply.

"How am I supposed to-"

"Isn't it obvious by now? Use your damned Talent." Percy approached the dying chipmunk casually. "Just force Alvin to stop dying. Really. Its that simple. Give him the demand, tell him that he'll be alright. I mean, it couldn't get any easier." he explained.

Brittany found this hard to believe. How was this going to… fuck it.

"Alvin, stop dying." she tried to no avail. Her glare met Percy's deadpan expression.

"Your not putting enough conviction in it. Try _harder_."

Brittany turned back to Alvin's slowing body and tried once more with more focus. "Alvin, your not going to die." No effect.

Percy groaned his displeasure. "Your still not trying hard enough. You've got to put effort into it. You have to _believe _that Alvin isn't dying. Imagine that reality is what you make of it. Then _make it_." the older chipmunk instructed her. Brittany turned her helplessness into conviction. With a deep breath, the girl focused all of her intent onto the dying chipmunk. Her foil. Her burden. Her friend.

With that the words flowed from her mouth as if she had never spoken them in the first place. "Alvin. You. Will. Not. Die." And he listened. The red-clad chipmunk instantly stopped choking. Instead of painful wheezing, Alvin took deep gulps of air as if he would never again breathe. Life filled his body once more.

Percy flashed Brittany a thumbs up in pride at her accomplishment. "See? Easy as hell."

The girl simply collapsed into a heap and fell into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

Rock and Review.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Hmm… Not many hits. Though I suppose going 6 days without an update can do that. Especially in such a small fanfiction niche. Ah well. I suppose I shouldn't complain. Though I haven't received many reviews as of late.

For any of you that read this, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story. One reason I can probably attribute the lack of reviews is because of the earlier chapters of my story. Seeing as I haven't done the rewrite yet (cause Act 1 ain't done yet.), It can be a pretty tough read.

As for any confusion, I've set the Chipmunk's birthday to the last day of July. The Chipettes have their birthday the day before thanksgiving. Fun facts.

I'm also in the planning stages of a new story. I won't say much except that I hope it's much more epic than this one. Enjoy chapter 13!

* * *

Dave winced as the loud, piercing car horn shook him from his stupor. The light had turned green. The embarrassed man sped away and focused himself on the road ahead. And yet his thoughts still plagued him.

The court date was a week away, the day before the Chipmunks' birthday. Unbelievable. Dave could only describe his life as a series of events spiraling out of control. Was he some kind of puppet to be pulled to and fro by some sadistic-

A car horn knocked reality to the forefront once again. Dave sighed in relief as he barely avoided colliding with a minivan in the opposite lane. This was getting dangerous. Dave pulled over and double parked near a row of shops. He took a few deep breathes to clear his mind and organize his thoughts.

_No._ He thought. _I can't let my boys down. I have to be strong. I'm going to see my lawyer tomorrow and we're going to plan for victory. Ian Hawke will _not_ destroy the lives me and my boys' have worked hard to create. Not while there's still breathe in my body._

Dave nodded to himself in total agreement. He looked to the passenger's seat and eyed the nut shaped cake. He would protect his boys, no matter what. That was a promise.

* * *

Percy mused over the past week. It was productive… for the most part. Well, maybe Simon giving him another black eye wasn't productive. But it was progress. Was progress being productive? Did that even make sense?

_This is stupid. Let me get back to the point…_ Percy thought.

Brittany and Alvin had followed him around non stop. The questions had come like a torrential flood. Brittany wanted to know _everything_ her Talent. Alvin wanted to know if he was like some stupid guy from a comic book or something. How was he supposed to know who this Jake Stormy was anyway? And what kind of dude has Strom or whatever as a name and uses fire as a superpower? That was just retarded in his opinion.

Then Percy had to endure the begging and the whining and the pleading. They wanted training. Alvin had a Talent that Percy knew nothing about, at all. Leave it to the Knight to come up with an original Talent. _What an ass… developing a stupid fire talent then assuming I could train him. _

Though he could train Brittany. And so he did. The girl had learned how to pluck the strings of reality and create a masterpiece. A real fucking masterpiece. Not like those stupid baby ones you hear about on television but are really just dudes autotuning their voices like Talentless idiots.

Brittany had learned quickly, taking simple concepts and expanding upon them in ways even he didn't know were possible. The Chipette was insanely powerful too. In a few years, Percy wagered she could wear him down to a stalemate. That was saying Percy had heard, Alvin had jumped off the roof.

* * *

**Flashback** **…**

_Alvin coughed as smoke filled his lungs once again. The burning sensation was far less… lethal tasting than usual. Black, grimy soot covered the chipmunk's fur. Wide amber eyes darted across the vast suburban landscape with enthusiasm. _

_He needed no witnesses… yet._

_Alvin was excited. Or perhaps that was an understatement. He was going to be the next Johnny Storm. He just knew it!_

_This entire exercise was going to be proof of that. The first task was to test his powers. Once he mastered flight, Alvin knew he could do anything. The world was a plucky oyster ready to be thrown into the trash. Was that the expression? Yeah, that was it. No way it could ever be anything other than that. Ever._

_Alvin calmed himself a bit with a deep breathe but soon regretted it. Another series of fiery hacking filled the air with its painful sound. The smoke didn't sting his eyes anymore. After the first few days of coughing up smoke, they had gotten somewhat used to the sensation._

_But now wasn't the time for reminiscing. No. He had a roof to jump. Alvin readied himself for the task ahead. Counting to three mentally, he charged across the tiled roof on all fours. He ran out of ground in moments, tiny clawed legs kicking at the air furiously. _

"_Flame on!" Nothing happened. Alvin panicked as his body began to descend. The ground sped towards him at speeds the chipmunk didn't even know were possible. "Oh crap!"_

_Alvin steeled himself as his body dropped like a rock. This was going to hurt. Not like in the movies hurt. This was going to be real hurt. Hurt that was strong enough to kill him. _

_But it never came. What Alvin felt, or didn't feel as was the case, was the total numbness in his lower body. Instead of finding bloody, broken limbs, Alvin could only see ash cast upon the ground. _

* * *

Brittany followed the screaming to the poor idiot and promptly began helping him reform the rest of his body. Not Alvin's greatest moment at any rate.

Then there was Jeanette and Simon; an ungodly pair if he ever saw one.

Jeanette had the same Talent as Vex. That meant Percy could teach her the basics. What Jeanette did was similar to Brittany's power, in that they both affected reality. Well… affecting reality wasn't really what Jeanette could do.

She created an _illusion_ of reality. Smoke and mirrors were the staples of such a Talent. Everything she did was a lie masked as the truth while he and Brittany actually _created_ the truth. Percy wondered if he was biased, then realized that he was far too awesome to even think of something like that. Hell, he could change reality with his _mind._ Physics? A toy to be tossed around and played with. Common sense? Mere putty in his hands.

_But to get back to the point_. Jeanette had learned quick, as was expected. Simon on the other hand had proved to be much more difficult to work with. Nothing short of utter contempt was shown for Percy's attempts at good will.

I mean jumping out of bathroom closets while you used the bathroom _was _a bit creepy. But it was for a good cause! Percy didn't want the guy to die a horrible death by his own Talent. The Rook deserved better after all.

Why all the chess analogies? Percy didn't know. His visions came and went, leaving him filled with knowledge on some subjects and completely oblivious in others. Everything, in time, would come to him. Percy had already seen it.

In the end, Percy was put in a familiar position with him curled on the floor, clutching his swelling eye, while Simon stood there in all his angst. This was getting ridiculous. But Percy resolved to take things a bit slower. The Rook would require more than fear or… chipmunks jumping out of closets. No. He would wait for a revelation, a vision of enlightenment to tell him what to do.

Perhaps stealing the boy's A.I. would be enough. The omniscient chipmunk mulled over that particular revelation. That A.I. was needed to operate the conduit. Without it, the machine would only be half as efficient. Could reality-tearing machines perform at half their normal capacity? Stupid omniscience. Always coming up with this vague bullshit.

Percy decided to think about the last pair of chipmunks. Now _they_ were the true cornerstones of his future plans. How? Well the avatars of Conquest and Destruction were important no matter what. They held great power. Power from both Heaven, and the depths of Hell as well. A recent revelation had relayed the story of the war between Heaven and Hell. God and Satan watched their vanguards battle each other across dimensions, unaffected from time. Massive armies and extremely powerful warriors nearly tore the universe apart until God and Satan both intervened and stopped the armies.

Satan forced one of his mightiest generals, Destruction, into exile as a primal force. God did the same with Conquest who became a conscious force. Through Conquest came Destruction, and through Destruction came Conquest. They developed into universal constants and retained their divinity not through the continual offering of prayer or through direct belief, but through the actions of mortal man.

The two survived, and eventually thrived. They created avatars to further their goals in the mortal world. As creatures untouched by time and its laws, they needed some form of connection that _was._ These avatars plotted wars, started conflicts, and drowned the world in sorrow. And now the youngest of the Chipmunks and Chipettes were chosen to be Destruction and Conquest's avatars respectively. How… unfortunate for them.

As tools, they served an agenda far above their own wants and needs. Eleanor and Theodore would forever remain as pawns; puppets to be paraded about at the whims of others. The irony of the situation was that they would also remain ignorant of this until it was too late.

Their Talents easily identified them as the embodiment of their prospective universal entities. They would eventually serve some purpose for their masters, but for now they served Percy's purposes. Truthfully, Percy had no idea what those purposes were. But there was always time to find out. For now, he could help them only on how to call out their Talents and no more. The two would have to find out how to use their Talents on their own. That could be a problem in the future. Maybe...

But Percy had even bigger problems. The Seville family would soon suffer a tremendous financial blow. Ian Hawke had a legion of lawyers and legal advisors securing him one heck of a payday. The question begged an answer; How could some reject with barely any money to his name pay for all the legal expenses? Someone was helping the greasy little jerk.

And considering the fact that few lawyers would want to face the Chipmunks in a legal battle was another sign that the sleazeball was getting help. Only one group came to mind. The Institute for Human Affairs was an enemy to all non-humans. They had wiped out the sentient rat population decades back. They helped fuel the not-so-legal human experiments over the course of the twentieth-century. Hell, they probably kicked puppies and drowned kittens too. They were going to be a fearsome enemy. That was for sure.

Percy was already losing this 6-year war, however. The Institute had no idea who they were facing until recently, when some tool named John came on the scene with some solid info. Percy still kicked himself for letting a Canadian proxy run his mouth off to a bunch of Institute supporters. Until then, his human proxies(1) had been the target of the Institute's attacks.

Now they were slowly being exterminated. But Institute couldn't try anything in his citadel of L.A.

No. He had the largest and most advanced commune in the entire world situated here. But apparently they were trying less direct means of attack. This legal battle was no doubt a way to draw him out into the open, or at least put down the Chipmunks and Chipettes. Percy wouldn't stand for it. Not in his house.

And yet, he couldn't play into the Institute's hand. Supporting the Seville family with the right lawyers would no doubt attract suspicion. Dave barely had any money left in his accounts, what with all the charity events. Honestly, Dave had to be the worst financial planner in the history of…

Whatever. This probably paled in comparison to the fact that HE DIDN"T KNOW WHERE THE CONDUIT WAS!

All of his plans relied on that magnificent machine. All of the plans. All of them. But he didn't have it, didn't know what it looked like, and didn't know where or when he was supposed to get it. Yet more fanciful prophetic bullshit to mount on his wall. He was supposed to get a vision or _something_ to help him make or find this machine. Still, nothing came.

Percy turned his thoughts back to the two fluffy yet crucial parts of his grand scheme. Eleanor was a bit more vibrant than usual. Her frilly little girl laughs were actually a bit more elegant now. Perhaps a side effect from her birthright? Theodore was more aggressive and irritable now. And if he was hungry, oh boy…

* * *

**Flashback…**

_Heavy banging could be heard coming from the kitchen. Pots and pans cluttered and clanged about, drawing Percy through his curiosity. Did a raccoon or something get in? Maybe a really hungry stray. Either way, something's ass was going to be kicked._

_The chipmunk crept across the hallway to the other end. He poked his head around the corner, then promptly ducked. A pot came careening through the air and landed just inches behind him._

"_Well that isn't very nice…" He joked quietly. Percy took another peek and found Eleanor propped up on yet another discarded pot. He dashed across the floor and leapt to join her._

"_Eleanor, what the hell is going on? Who's trashing the kitchen?"_

"_Who else? Its Teddy. I told him we ran out of food and he just went crazy. I've been watching him ever since." She replied simply. He deadpanned. _

"_Your joking… There's no way- Ooof"_

_A larger than normal Theodore collided with Percy. The two ended up in a heap at the other end of the counter with Theodore sitting on top of him. The green-clad chipmunk happily snacked on a cheeseball before offering Percy one._

"_No… you… porkball! Get off!" He tried between labored breathes. Theodore waited nearly a full minute before deciding to join Eleanor on the pot. The two looked at the destroyed kitchen with bored looks. The sink was cracked and leaking water. The cabinets showed various signs of damage. Some were knocked cleanly off their hinges. The fridge was leaning dangerous on one side with a strange yellow substance leaking out. _

_Theodore and Eleanor gave each other a look and nodded. Then they turned to Percy, waiting expectantly for him. Percy could only groan in displeasure. He was no doubt going to have to fix all of this._

* * *

Percy remembered how sick he felt after expending all that energy fixing the damages. Changing reality was much more difficult than anyone thought. The more ridiculous the notion, the more stressing it was to the body. So, yes, the flying spaghetti monster _was_ completely out of the question.

Bringing the dead back to life was almost as hard. One could lose their own lives attempting to restore another's. Individually, the damage would have been easy to fix. But the sheer extent of the repairs needed drained the chipmunk more than what he would've liked.

But to summarize it, Percy hated this. All of this. This sucked so hard no one even knew. The fact that he had to act like a maid, cleaning up everyone else's fuck ups, was detestable. And they still didn't trust him. Well… he hadn't done anything in particular to earn that trust. But he was doing all of this work! That was at least worth something in the way of trust. Right?

That led Percy to more inquisitive, and pleasing, thoughts. Sam was left in charge of the commune in his absence. The techie was an able administrator, but a terrible leader. He could do the basic running of the place but when it came down to it Sam was a spineless slug with the charisma of protoplasm. That was the reason Hex was there. She'd keep everyone on a short leash as long as necessary. That much was certain.

Still… Percy was curious. How were his people doing?

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

_Looks like everyone's here._ Vex thought as she double checked to make sure. _Yeah, everybody made it._

Sam sat at his miniature computer console, frustrated with the machine as usual. Rick was checking himself in the mirror on the far side of the room. Sam would occasional look back to see Hex giving him that "oh so detestable grin". Vex didn't like his prospects.

Then there was Dr. Williams who had a few of his apprentices run the clinic in his absence. He was looking out at the city from Percy's penthouse view. There were a couple new faces around as well. They were Alik and Mircea. Alik was tall, lanky and an overall nice guy. Mircea was a short, round faced chipmunk that always seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. Seriously, everything bugged that guy out.

The two were playing with the miniaturized Xbox with one of Percy's many flat screen televisions. Every once in a while Mircea would yell and curse about how much of a cheater Alik was while the tall chipmunk tried to appease him by offering to lose on purpose. That would anger Mircea even more. It got so bad that Rick went over there to calm them down. The result earned Rick a one-way ticket to the ground floor by way of the windows.

Finally, they managed to calm down Mircea and drag Rick's bloody body up to the penthouse. Rick was lucky that he was so hard to kill.

"Now that everyone's done channeling their insanity… We have business to discuss. I came out of my shock induced coma about a week ago. But I've been busy during that time. See, I've come to a conclusion. One that me and my sister share."

"Its time we began the next phase. Alik, Mircea, are you two ready with the final design?" Hex asked the eccentric duo. With the press of a button, the image on the flat screen turned to that of a schematic. The rough sketch of the image was a pod of strange design. It featured sleek, rounded corners and flat sides.

Sam looked completely skeptical of the pod's model. "Are you sure _that_ is going to work? It looks… well that is to say…"

"Hey ass. Shut it! I'll bet this thing could withstand the fuckin' apocalypse." Mircea shot back. The chipmunk looked like he'd start foaming at the mouth soon if he didn't calm down.

"Well… its supposed to… How many of these are we supposed to make anyway?"

"Eight." Hex replied quickly. Sam was completely shocked. Only eight?

"Eight? The dimensions there can barely fit a single chipmunk! How are we supposed to-"

"We're not." Vex told him. Sam understood the message quickly. "Now if there are any more questions…" Dr. Williams stepped forward this time. "Yes doctor?"

"I have all of the genetic material. I'm still waiting for the communes in China to send me theirs and we've heard nothing from Russia. The small communes in Europe, Africa, and Australia have already sent theirs. I assume we won't be building the pods for the children."

Vex shook her head slowly, as if contemplating the idea despite knowing it wouldn't be possible. "I'm sorry Dr. Williams. We simply don't have enough material to create that many pods. The meteors we collected only provided enough alloy for eight pods. While there is enough material to create one more, anyone who tried to use it would have a fifty-fifty shot at best."

The doctor nodded sadly and turned back to the view of the city. He thought it best not to let them see him cry. _We can't even save the goddamn children… God bless their souls._

"According to the specs… I'd say I can have these done in about a year." Sam replied slowly, going over the numbers in his head. "My teams have been refining the ore for a few months now. We should have the first pod done in about a month."

"A year? What are you doing? Holding a tea party? Its fucking space metal. How hard can it be to refine it?" Mircea yelled angrily. Sam pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Its not like roasting marshmallows, ok? The ore requires massive amounts of heat at a constant temperature for very long periods of time. Then we have to run hundreds of volts of electricity into-"

"Save us the technical mumbo-jumbo, nerd. Just get it done. We don't have much time." Hex told him. Sam looked insulted. He should be. It was kind of the point.

Hex looked at the team gathered. They knew their jobs. No one could afford to screw up. Not now. Not when Percy had his pieces in play.

**

* * *

**

Jesus. Finally done.

Sorry its so late. Though the good news is I'm almost done with my summer homework. Hahhaha! Though I'll probably fuck this up and end up procrastinating, forcing me to delay my writing in favor of doing the work I was supposed to already have done.

Whatever.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Wow… I'm so fucking late. I'm sorry. Please fucking forgive me! Turning 16 is pretty awesome, so yeah. Feel free to wish me a happy birthday.

**

* * *

**

"Your honor my client only wishes for the money he was promised in a legally binding contract given to him."

"The contract was signed before the Chipettes were given legal status as citizens in this country."

"Which is unrelated to the issue at hand. The contract specifically states that the current owner of the band would handle all payments and dues owed. As I recall, the Chipettes are the legal owners of the band. Because they are still minors under the recent law passed by the Supreme Court, their legal guardian and manager, Mr. Seville, is responsible for their debts."

"Fine. My client will agree to pay Mr. Hawke his due, but we ask for a reduced payment your honor! Mr. Seville is but a simple songwriter employed at Jett Records, he can't possibly afford to pay fifty million dollars-"

"Your client is the legal owner of the Chipmunks as well. The income he generates as manager of the band is already deep enough into the million dollar range. Your honor-"

The judge interrupted the zealous lawyer with a single hand as his eyes finished skimming the documents before him. The judge was a heavy set man with bushy eyebrows and a receding hairline. He seemed to always hum in a quiet baritone which filled the two lawyers with unease.

"It is abundantly clear to me that you, Mr. Seville, are in fact financially responsible for the Chipettes and therefore are responsible for the payment of all outstanding dues. However, because of the fact that the Chipmunks were released from their contract, I will lower the remaining amount to thirty million dollars. Mr. Seville you have forty-five days to pay the sum in total to Mr. Hawke The court is adjourned."

Dave slumped in his seat at the amount owed. "Thirty million? How am I supposed to get thirty million in a month and a half?" He whispered to himself in shock. They held less than a million dollars already, half of which was going to the house repairs and legal bills. No record company had approached his boys, nor had any returned his calls. How was he going to get that kind of money?

He didn't even register the voice of his lawyer until the man prodded him back to his senses. "Mr. Seville?"

"What is it?" Dave asked nervously. His mouth felt strangely dry…

"Mr. Hawke is willing to settle out of court for custody of the Chipettes."

"No." Dave fired back immediately. There was no way he was going to give the girls up to that sick bastard over there. Ian was already staring with that smug, arrogant look plastered all over his face. Dave momentarily entertained the thought of ripping the creep a new one.

"I'm not your financial advisor Mr. Seville, but I suggest you give this some thought or you work something out with Mr. Hawke. There isn't much more I can do for you legally."

"Its out of the question!" Dave replied with gritted teeth. The songwriter felt a burning rage build up within him, consuming his thoughts. It was an effort not to march over to Ian right now and punch that dirty little stare off his face.

**

* * *

**

**Later that evening…**

"Thirty million! You've got to be kidding Dave!" Alvin cried in distress. The chipmunk was pacing back and forth at the news. Black soot shook from his body with every step, leaving a fine layer of it all over that section of the kitchen counter.

"I wish I was."

Percy started laughing right then and there, drawing various looks ranging from annoyed to hostile. The eldest chipmunk continued to cackle madly as the looks intensified.

"What's so funny?" Eleanor asked with a face chock full of deadpan. Percy replied with that knowing smile that infuriated her so.

"I realized who's behind all of this. To be honest, I never expected the Institute to be this desperate." Melodic laughter filled the room, but from only one person. It died down at the confused and annoyed looks the Seville family directed at Percy.

"What? Oh right… I never told you about the Institute. Ok kiddies, time to find a seat. Its story time!"

The bubbling giddiness and mirth overflowing from the psychic chipmunk raised Simon's ire. But the brainy chipmunk held his tongue. Feeding this guy any attention was asking for trouble. Especially because he knew the type.

"Alright, so the story of the Institute of Human Affairs goes back to… the Cold War if I remember correctly. You know the classic tale. The two superpowers wanted new and better ways to kill communists or capitalists. Neurotoxins carried in missiles, the development of genetic diseases that reduced the fertility of the population, torture devices and chemicals abounding. Oh yes, this was a glorious time for spies and mercenaries alike."

Percy gave a short pause to set the mood. It would leave his captive audience as nothing more then malleable putty in his hands.

"But this golden age of immoral back alley business could not last forever. After 'Nam and the chaos of the 80's and 90's, The Institute was trashed by the Russians and the Americans and their dealings swept under the carpet for good. But the Institute was a permanent institution in countless countries. Each institution merged with one another as the years went by, secretly working together in concert. In their experiments, they came across a colony of rats somewhere on the European continent who were showing signs of rapidly increasing intelligence. They captured and tested on these rats in the attempt to use them as hidden assets capable of spying and attacking their enemies. A hidden threat that was entirely undetectable."

Jeanette couldn't help but interrupt there when her curiosity reached critical levels. "How do you know all of this Percy? I mean, you weren't even born!"

"Well I do get visions pretty much every day. I pieced it together from what I saw in those visions and the little I could get from my human contacts. The point is, animals receiving human like intelligence on this wide of a scale has happened only once before, only it has only happened through natural evolution." Percy explained quickly. Simon couldn't help but interject at that point.

"And I'm guessing this rat colony didn't enjoy their slavery, rebelled, and forced the Institute to wipe them out. Right?" It was less of a question and more of a fact.

"Mhmm. Pretty simple to understand. Sentient beings don't enjoy the shackles of bondage, so it was inevitable really. The Institute went through more species of animals in search of the perfect animal weapon. They had countless experiments to boost the intelligence of animals artiticially. All of them failures. Meanwhile I was staying low and keeping our kind in the shadows. Unfortunately…" Percy couldn't help but give a look to Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. Bitter couldn't quite describe what he felt right now.

"You three had to go and get discovered. That forced us into the cities where it was nearly impossible to track us up until…" He gave looks to each of the chipettes now. "You three came to L.A. That's when they began putting all hands on deck to find and capture us. Or at least wipe us out if we couldn't be captured." He told them with a sigh. Percy had enough

Theodore rubbed his hands together nervously. He didn't quite get the entire story but just enough to know that this Institute was full of people ready to hurt them. That was all he needed anyway. "So… what do we do now?"

"_You_ are going to pay that slimy grease ball every cent. I can front the initial cash to start up a tour and use my resources to advertise it at every major city across the U.S. It's easy money if you guys can haul ass and put up one helluva show."

Dave cleared his throat, gathering the attention of everyone in the room. "I hope you weren't planning this entire thing-"

"Dave. Cmon. You're the manager. Your going to deal with all the face to face stuff I can't, but you need my help and I need yours. Okay?" Percy told the worried father. He really didn't need Dave going off on yet another one of his paranoid rants. Dave was decent when it came to humans, but the man was a veritable killjoy.

"You need _our_ help? How so?" Simon asked skeptically. If this guy could throw around millions of dollars like they were tiny droplets of water in an ocean, then what kind of help could even possibly need?

"Well… I do need you guys to be a distraction." The curious and worried faces coming to life around him pushed him to respond quickly. "The Institute is going to focus their resources on hunting and capturing you guys. With that lessened threat, my people can get to work on a few side jobs we need to get done."

Dave immediately argued against the plan ."Absolutely not! My children will not be a part of a plan that has to do with armed men-"

"Jesus Dave! Lighten up. Its not like they'll even get close. I'll be here to watch over you guys the entire time plus the additional security a few of my teams will provide. If any Institute agents even get close, I'll take 'em down quickly and quietly. Trust me."

"Trust you? I don't think I can trust you with anything, most especially my life." Simon retorted with a snort. He looked to his brothers who both held unease with the plan as well. Brittany was torn on the inside. While she desperately wanted to trust Percy, it was hard to look past the fact that he was an ass. The guy had been cryptic with them for weeks, generally complained about how hard he was working whenever possible, and he refused to help when their Talent's would cause messes in the house.

Alvin was covered in soot from head to toe nearly all the time. The amount of baths he had to take a day slowly increased as his Talent grew more powerful. Brittany would let her mind wander and suddenly giant monsters made of perhaps the "cutest" clothes she'd ever seen were terrorizing everyone in the house. Hell even Theodore had a problem. Hiss appetite had skyrocketed over time and Dave was already having trouble keeping the fridge stocked with food, lest Theo decide to tear up the house again.

"Look. Whether you guys want it or not, I'm here to help and that's what's going to happen. Your going to accept my help because one way or another the Institute is going to come back and they won't come with just five or six guys. They'll send a small army. I need to give my people some cover so that my urgent prior arrangements can be dealt with and you guys need cold hard cash and fast. Without my resources you won't be able to advertise this thing or even pay the initial investment. Running or hiding from the police or the Institute is not an option. And giving the Chipettes to that Ian guy is out of the question. His lawyers are probably Institute lackeys. I already know you won't find a job either, simply cause the Institute would've blocked any attempt to do so. Hell, you probably wouldn't even score 30 million on time. Face it, we need each other."

Some time passed as the family mulled over accepting Percy' help or not. Percy was still not completely trustworthy. But no one could argue with the fact that without the money Dave could face some serious problems. Finally, Simon broke the tense moment by walking up to Percy with a hand outstretched. Percy readily shook the slightly shorter chipmunk's hand, but Simon pulled Percy in close before he could let go.

"We may not be able to refuse your help, but that doesn't mean we're going to be puppets to dance at your beck and call. And if anything happens to any one of us, consider yourself responsible. I don't care what freaky mind powers you may have, I _will_ make you suffer for it."

**

* * *

**

**END OF ACT 1**

Ugh…

I hate myself right now. Why did I leave you people hanging so long? Fucking laziness. To be honest I meant to have a few more chapters of filler, but I don't think its necessary at this point. I will be taking exactly two weeks or so instead of one. I need to start adjusting to school again and this responsibility is getting to be a chore for me.

After which I will be rewriting all of Act 1 and posting it back up. Check out for that! And I guess… enjoy this chapter. Meh.


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